A community protest gathered Sept. 1 on Coronado Central beach under cloudy skies, crowding in between the familiar “keep out” signs warning visitors of the sewage contaminated waters in the Pacific Ocean.
This gathering was no Labor Day weekend kickoff, instead 40 different groups rallied to protest the rampant sewage pollution from Tijuana, Mexico affecting the livelihoods in Southern California beach towns.
And, they got a bit of good news as Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey announced that additional federal funding has been released to help with construction projects to prevent the sewage flow.
Laura Wilkinson Sinton, one of the co-founders of Stop the Sewage.org, the group that organized the event, said that just under 500 people attended.
Protesters dressed in costumes to emphasize their point—a hazmat suit, mermaid tails and even a skeleton onesie made an appearance.
Posters in hand, the group chanted: “What do we want? Stop the sewage! When do we want it? Now!”
The community demanded action from elected officials, the state department of Public Health, Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the community’s health and prevent further economic devastation.
Pressure follows Coronado News inquiry
This community pressure follows The Coronado News earlier this year publishing a five-part series that examined the decades of broken promises by U.S. and Mexican officials that have resulted in a polluted ocean and shuttered beaches in Coronado and Imperial Beach. Further, the public health crisis continues to cause widespread illnesses on both sides of the border, including to U.S. Border Patrol Agents and Navy SEALS.
Prior to the rally, members of California’s congressional delegation began seeking additional funding to fix a crisis that has existed since the Great Depression.
U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein of California called on Senate leadership on Aug. 29 to include $310 million in the upcoming emergency supplemental bill to repair infrastructure needed to treat raw sewage spilling across the border from Mexico.
The Coronado News was provided with a statement from U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) that he released on Aug. 30 also urging the federal government to address the crisis further:
“The International Wastewater Treatment Plant is completely failing because the federal government has refused to address this crisis with the urgency it requires for far too long. For years we have sounded the alarm alongside the local community that this is an emergency and action is needed immediately.”
Peters noted $300 million that was secured in 2021 under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was a “a welcome and significant investment,” but he said “we now know that we need much, much more to finish the job and we need it right now.”
Mexico also has pledged $144 million for a myriad of construction projects, including repairing and expanding an aging international wastewater treatment plant on the U.S.-Mexico border that recently had several failed pumps, causing about 20,000 gallons of sewage to spill onto Hollister Street in Imperial Beach.
Mayors stand together
On Sept. 1, the mayors of Imperial Beach and Coronado stood side-by-side at the rally, partnering to demand action.
In the past, each took different strategic routes of action.
“In the past we were pursuing [what] I would characterize as complimentary routes,” said Bailey, the Coronado mayor. “Those two strategies work hand in hand, where the legal strategy garnered a lot of attention because it captured a lot of headlines, but it was the legislative strategy that ultimately produced the appropriation of $300 million in funding.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said that both of their routes have been beneficial to get them where they are today.
“The challenge is that we’re way behind from where we need to be because of the fixes that are needed at the plant because of lack of funding,” Aguirre said. “That’s the timeline that I’m concerned [about], even though Gov. Newsom is calling on President Biden to accelerate that timeline, I still have questions. What does that mean?”
Bailey with new update
Bailey shared fresh information at the rally. Through the Biden Administration and EPA, additional funds are being appropriated, he said.
“It’s not much additional funding. It’s only another $50 million,” Bailey said. “We need about $350 million more.”
Bailey said the important point to note with this recent news in increased funding, is that the Environmental Protection Agency for the first time, has announced that they will be entering a design build contract, giving contractors the confidence to begin working on these projects, even though the funds had not been fully appropriated.
“It puts Congress on the hook for appropriating the balance of those funds in the future, so that’s the big news, and I think most people are going to miss that,” Bailey said.
Bailey said that while more often than not, the North Beach next to the Hotel del Coronado is safe. And while South Coronado and Imperial Beach see the greatest contamination, ongoing efforts are essential for the entire region as an environmental issue and as a safety issue for U.S. Border Patrol Agents and the U.S. Navy.
It’s not just a Coronado issue, it’s not just an Imperial Beach issue, it’s an entire South Bay and regional issue that unfortunately can only be solved with federal action.”
-Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey.
“It’s not just a Coronado issue, it’s not just an Imperial Beach issue, it’s an entire South Bay and regional issue that unfortunately can only be solved with federal action,” Bailey said.
Many groups affected
Wilkinson Sinton, co-founder of Stop the Sewage.org with four other women— Susan Finley Marrinan, Marely Ramirez, Jean Seager and Stephanie Kaupp— said that Stop the Sewage.org organized the event with Emerald Keepers and Surfrider Foundation.
She said they have been planning the rally for about four weeks and 40 other non-profit organizations were involved.
“Everybody’s involved because we want this to change,” Wilkinson Sinton said. “We want this to end. This is an environmental crime.”
As a tri-national issue, with the U.S., a Native American Tribe and Mexico affected, the rally started with a land acknowledgement from Bobby Wallace from the Barona Band of Mission Indians and the Kumeyaay Nation.
Students from Coronado High School also made an appearance.
Senior Olivia Chavez is the president of the Surfriders club at CHS. Planning to go into environmental science, Chavez came to the rally with other CHS students.
“I think the preservation of the planet is important and if we let this happen, what else is going to happen?” Chavez said. “This is a popular area, and I think there are a lot less popular areas that go unspoken for.”
The rally ended with the group forming a human SOS sign on the beach, with overhead drone footage to further emphasize the community’s demand for action.
