San Diego City Wire

WASHINGTON D.C. – On July 12, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) led a request to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan for the agency to find ways to direct funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), especially funding for environmental justice programs, to help stop the flow of trash, sewage, and other wastewater pollution from Mexico spilling into our local beaches. Representative Peters was joined by Representatives Juan Vargas (CA-52), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Mike Levin (CA-49) in this letter which implores Regan to help identify new funds needed to address deferred maintenance needs at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (ITP). Regan visited the Tijuana River Valley to view this environmental catastrophe firsthand in 2021 at Peters’ invitation.

In their request, the members state, “Mr. Administrator, Congress recently approved two major spending bills – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We implore you and President Biden to help us find a way to direct some of these funds to complete the work the United States is now committed to, per the international treaty known as Minute 328. That treaty commits us to expand the (International Treatment Plant) to a capacity of 50 million gallons per day (mgd).”

Last week, members of the San Diego congressional delegation sent a letter to President Biden and submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 calling on the administration to declare this crisis a federal emergency. Two weeks ago, Rep. Peters led a letter with other members of the San Diego Congressional delegation to the governor of Baja California urging accountability for the Mexican government’s commitments to build wastewater treatment infrastructure. And, in the past, Peters along with colleagues, has secured funding, introduced legislation, and called for investigations in response to the wastewater contamination crisis. 

The members, highlighting the need for environmental justice funding, continue, “Recreational access to our nation’s coastline is also an environmental justice matter. The beaches of Imperial Beach and Coronado offer the nearest and most affordable access for many of San Diego’s most disadvantaged communities. As described in the linked letter from the City of Coronado, many neighborhoods in South San Diego County – in San Ysidro, National City and Chula Vista – are lower-income and primarily Latino. These are their beaches! Yet, they are now closed due to dangerous wastewater pollution.”

And they conclude, “Please help us find a way to either direct some of the IRA EJ funds towards this catastrophe or help us identify other resources to fix it and do whatever you can to move these solutions along as quickly as possible. The people of San Diego County have suffered with this for far too long and are counting on us to find a sustainable solution.”

A full accounting of Rep. Peters’ work on transboundary pollution here.

Full text of the letter here and in full below.

Dear Administrator Regan:

In 2021 you graciously accepted our invitation to tour the Tijuana River Valley to see first-hand the devastating effects of the hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted wastewater that is now constantly flowing across the San Diego-Mexico border from Baja California. As you learned that day, this contaminated water contains raw sewage, industrial waste, trash, and even toxic chemicals that seep into San Diego communities and spill into the Pacific Ocean. While we have all worked hard to fund and execute a plan to stop this catastrophe, it was recently reported that beaches in these affected South Bay communities will be closed for the second summer in a row due to this pollution.

Now, the news is worse. The San Diego Congressional delegation worked hard to secure $300 million within the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to fund a doubling of capacity at the South Bay International Treatment Plant (ITP), from 25 million gallons per day (mgd) to 50 mgd. We recently learned that this money will not nearly cover the cost. A recent assessment of the plant revealed that it has been so poorly maintained, another $100 to $150 million is needed just to rehabilitate the existing facility. This was a devastating gut punch to the communities we represent that have borne the burden of this tragedy for far, far too long. 

Mr. Administrator, Congress recently approved two major spending bills – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We implore you and President Biden to help us find a way to direct some of these funds to complete the work the United States is now committed to, per the international treaty known as Minute 328. That treaty commits us to expand the ITP to a capacity of 50 mgd. Mexico also committed $144 million to fund several projects in Baja California as part of that treaty. We must hold Mexico accountable to fulfill its commitment, and we must fulfill ours.

The IRA alone includes $2 billion for Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) projects. As you stated during your visit in 2021, this tragedy of highly contaminated wastewater fouling these border communities is a critical and urgent environmental justice concern. Air and water borne pathogens are posing serious and dangerous health risks. In the community of San Ysidro, where the population is 89% Latino and the median income is $43,000/year, residents complain of headaches and nausea from the stench and fumes. In Imperial Beach, studies funded by your own agency attribute tens of thousands of illnesses to water quality pollution. And in Coronado, which is very largely dependent on coastal tourism to support thousands of hotel and hospitality jobs, the beaches remain closed for yet another season, which places the jobs of these service workers in very serious jeopardy. We have linked here a letter to the White House from Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre which illustrates the devastation her city faces and provides academic sourcing for the environmental and public health damages described above.

Finally, recreational access to our nation’s coastline is also an environmental justice matter. The beaches of Imperial Beach and Coronado offer the nearest and most affordable access for many of San Diego’s most disadvantaged communities. As described in the linked letter from the City of Coronado, many neighborhoods in South San Diego County – in San Ysidro, National City and Chula Vista  – are lower-income and primarily Latino. These are their beaches! Yet, they are now closed due to dangerous wastewater pollution.

Earlier this month, the EPA hosted a webinar to seek ideas about how to prioritize a portion of IRA’s Environmental Justice funds among border communities. Many participants highlighted this very urgent need at the San Diego-Mexico border.  However, in a June briefing for Congressional staff hosted by EPA Region 9 and the International Boundary and Water Commission, staff asked whether IRA EJ funds could be considered for this very urgent crisis, the notion was very promptly shut down.

While we understand that these funding opportunities are currently intended for community-based organizations and local and tribal governments, we firmly believe that this transboundary pollution is one of the greatest environmental justice concerns in the Western Hemisphere. Please help us find a way to either direct some of the IRA EJ funds towards this catastrophe or help us identify other resources to fix it and do whatever you can to move these solutions along as quickly as possible. The people of San Diego County have suffered with this for far too long and are counting on us to find a sustainable solution.

We look forward to hearing back from you and stand ready to assist in any way we can.

Original source can be found here.