A group of South Bay residents has filed suit against operators of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, blaming the company for sewage pollution that has shut down local beaches and endangered public health.
James P. Frantz, CEO of Frantz Law Group, said the complaint, filed Nov. 15 in San Diego Superior Court, so far includes four individuals against Veolia North America, alleging mismanagement of the plant whose failing infrastructure discharges untreated sewage into the Tijuana River and Estuary and causes exposure to contaminants like Hydrogen Sulfide, DDT, Benzidine and Polychlorinated Biphenyls.
This legal action, brought forward by plaintiffs Rachel Havens, Steven Havens, Ursula Sanchez and Brian McCray, comes just days after the City of Chula Vista adopted a resolution declaring a state of emergency due to the ongoing cross-border pollution.
“The residents of Imperial Beach are tired of hearing the decades-old ‘broken promises’ of a company knowingly dumping billions of gallons of raw sewage on their beaches and in their estuary causing continuous beach closures, surfers and beachgoers getting sick, as well as individuals and families being constantly subjected to airborne pathogens and noxious odor,” Frantz said in a statement.
During a Nov. 18 press conference, Frantz said his law firm is seeking monetary damages, medical monitoring and testing for the individuals affected by Veolia’s years-long negligence.
“These harmful contaminants may also lead to latent illnesses such as respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological and mental health issues,” said Frantz.
The lawsuit cites “intentional actions, negligence, recklessness, and other unlawful conduct” from defendants, specifically California Health and Safety Code section 5411, wherein plaintiffs “were and are continually exposed to pollutants, sewage, and hazardous waste in the air they breathe, the water they drink and use in their home, and the soil on their properties.”
“The State Water Board and the San Diego Water Board have issued hundreds of violations to IWBC and Veolia. But Defendants continue to allow the toxicity and pollution in the river and waters off the coast to increase and run unchecked and unmediated,” reads the complaint.
Kristin Westphal, an attorney representing the residents in the lawsuit, said the decision was made to not include the International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IBWC) or government agencies from Mexico in the complaint.
“It does not name these agencies because the action was brought in state court and is focused on the wrongdoing by the entities, these defendants, responsible for operating and maintaining the failing facilities and infrastructure that allowed the discharge and leaking of the raw sewage that damaged South Bay residents,” said Westphal in a statement.
Listed as defendants are Veolia Water West Operating Services, Inc.; Veolia Water North America-West, LLC; Mark Wippler, an employee of Veolia; and other officers, directors, and managers anonymously grouped together.
Adam Lisberg, the senior vice president of communications for Veolia, said the environmental crisis is caused by unprecedented and uncontrolled flows of sewage from Tijuana, adding that there is a critical lack of funding from the U.S. and Mexican governments to fix the issue.
Lisberg described the lawsuit as “dishonest rhetoric” from attorneys with “baseless accusations.”
“Veolia has done an excellent job helping to operate the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant despite these challenges, and we look forward to working with our government partners to help bring about a long-term solution,” Lisberg said.
The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, a binational federal agency responsible for sewage and water infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border, has for years contracted Veolia to operate, maintain and manage the San Ysidro plant.
Frank Fisher, Public Affairs Chief for the IBWC, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
“We remain focused on fulfilling our mission along the U.S.-Mexico border, including the recently announced rehabilitation and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, monitoring Mexico’s sanitation infrastructure improvements, and taking urgent actions to eliminate dry weather transboundary flows,” Fisher said in a statement.
So far, the IBWC has secured $400 million in federal funding for rehabilitation and expansion projects at the plant, which according to officials doubles in total cost. Last month, the agency announced a project that began expansion of the plant over the next five years, part of a binational agreement, Minute 328, to eliminate 90% of untreated Tijuana River wastewater reaching the coast.
Hundreds more may join
The law firm said its civil complaint is a mass tort, where each plaintiff’s damages and circumstances are individualized, potentially leading to higher recoveries.
While a mass tort typically includes a smaller group of injured plaintiffs compared to a class-action suit, Frantz said his team expects to have “hundreds, if not thousands” of plaintiffs in the case.
“Just this morning I got up for my walk at 6 a.m. and the smell was there. Last night, 9 o’clock, the smell was there,” said Westphal.
Westphal, 54, who moved to Imperial Beach this past summer and previously lived in Coronado, said she has plans to become a plaintiff along with her family.
“Why would you want your children exposed to this?” said Westphal referring to alarming gases reported by university researchers studying pollution hotspots in September. “My own family has experienced headaches, sore throats, … gastrointestinal upset.”
Frantz said the firm is also in the process of filing lawsuits, also in state court, on behalf of several school districts in the county also affected by the pollution.
No decision had been announced by Coronado Unified as of Nov. 18. Public Information Officer Maria Simon said the district would be meeting with legal counsel to determine if it will join the lawsuit in the near future.
An amendment to the lawsuit will include additional individual plaintiffs, Westphal said, school district complaints would be filed separately.
“You can only imagine if this happened in North County or Pacific Beach, how enraged the population would be,” added Frantz, “People in South Bay deserve nothing less.”
