Maria-Elena Giner, the commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), is leaving her post as leader of the binational agency as President Donald Trump replaces her role with a new appointee.
William “Chad” McIntosh has been appointed to take the position. McIntosh previously served as acting deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Lee Zeldin. During Trump’s first presidency, McIntosh was appointed in 2019 as the assistant administrator for tribal and internal affairs at the EPA.
He has 40 years of experience in environmental and public health protection, and began working at the federal agency after being responsible for environmental permitting at the Ford Motor Company, where he was also a part of Ford’s global environmental leadership team.
Prior to his career at Ford, McIntosh served as the natural resources and policy advisor to Michigan Gov. John Engler.
The change in leadership comes as the IBWC is working to repair the dilapidated South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is spilling raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean.
Coronado has been affected by outflow from Tijuana for almost a century, as north-flowing currents carry human and industrial waste to local beaches. In 1934, the United States and Mexican governments instructed the International Boundary Commission to help prepare a report on a cross-border water pollution issue.
Since then, Tijuana’s sewage system has overwhelmed U.S. and Mexican treatment plants, pouring into the ocean and causing an environmental threat that has closed beaches and endangered public health.
Years of mismanagement and insufficient funds have led to millions of gallons of partially treated sewage making its way to the ocean. Since her appointment in 2021, Giner has worked to bring funding and transparency to the issue.
The commission is in the midst of spending $600 million to repair the plant, which may take up to five years to complete.
Giner posted her resignation letter on LinkedIn on Tuesday evening. In it, she congratulated McIntosh and said it was the honor of a lifetime to serve as commissioner.
“The hardest job I’ve ever had but the most rewarding,” she wrote.
“As sad as I feel in leaving this position, I am proud of our accomplishments at the IBWC during our almost four years together,” she said. “There was much ground to cover given the insufficient funding provided to the agency for decades.”
For a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020, the agency worked with $32 million annually to maintain 500 miles of levies, two international dams, two wastewater treatment plants, two ports of entry and 800 boundary monuments.
This small budget led to the deterioration of IBWC’s infrastructure.
Giner’s resignation letter praises the staffers at IBWC and encourages them to continue the mission through McIntosh.
“I would like to thank them for investing their time in me to learn and advocate for the needs of this agency,” she said in the letter addressed to Trump. “… I have also encouraged staff to continue the mission and support your vision through Commissioner Chad McIntosh.”
