In four years as the first Hispanic U.S. leader of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, Maria-Elena Giner oversaw dramatic changes. The agency finally developed a $650 million plan to address Tijuana sewage that has contaminated south San Diego beaches for decades, and it began operating with transparency.
Now leaving office – abruptly replaced by President Donald Trump – Giner said she hopes her successor will carry on the momentum.
“The funding is there, the plan is there, the construction team is on site, it just needs to keep moving forward,” said Giner in an exit interview with The Coronado News.
Trump replaced Giner with William “Chad” McIntosh, a registered professional chemical engineer and an attorney. McIntosh previously served as acting deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Lee Zeldin.
Giner became the second woman and first Latina to hold the title when President Joe Biden appointed her in August 2021.
Giner posted her resignation letter across online platforms on April 22 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.
“My next chapter will be hard to transition to because I love the agency, I love the staff and I love the people I served,” Giner said, an emotional ring carrying her words during an interview. “Which is probably why I was so driven to get this result.”
Giner, who has a PhD in public policy, said she is open to all forthcoming possibilities to serve people along the border or other communities in need.
“I remind myself I’m a woman of great faith,” she said. “I try not to get emotional. … As unexpected yet expected as this was, I know my path will be revealed fairly soon.”
“I thank Commissioner Giner for her dedicated service,” Rep. Scott Peters, D-California, said in a statement on X on April 21. “She was always an honest partner, giving us the true picture of the problem even when it was not convenient. … While she may not be commissioner when we finally cut the ribbon on our improved treatment plant, the communities in the South Bay and Coronado will not forget her role in making it possible. I look forward to meeting and working with the new commissioner as soon as possible so we can put an end to this crisis.”
Commissioner McIntosh
McIntosh was appointed in 2019 as the assistant administrator for tribal and internal affairs at the EPA during Trump’s first presidency.
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 White House did not respond to a request for comment about this decision on deadline.
Giner’s legacy
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.
Giner said she was asked by the White House to resign following an April 19 phone conversation with McIntosh.
“It’s not a surprise that I would either be asked for my resignation or terminated because of the fact it’s a new administration,” said Giner, who noted she was given until April 21 for either action. “Jan. 20 was notification.”
Giner said she is grateful that she was allowed to remain in office the ensuing four months – and that the position was not left vacant.
“A vacancy would have been a disaster for the agency,” she said.
Years of mismanagement and insufficient funds had led to millions of gallons of partially treated sewage making its way to the ocean. Since her appointment, Giner has worked to bring funding and transparency to the issue.
“I’m not going to see through a lot of the initiatives that I created,” she said. “(But) I’m very satisfied that I did the best that I could.”
During the 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 agency’s staffers and encourages them to continue the job through McIntosh.
“It’s important that he set his vision as to how he’s going to accomplish the mission,” she said. “And disseminate that as quickly as possible.”
Giner said she instilled a “you protect the lives of the residents along the U.S.-Mexico border” mission for everyone at IBWC.
Giner also created an agency-wide strategic plan, whose posters could be found throughout all IBWC facilities, she said, to communicate her vision, which included her priorities for staff, infrastructure projects, and policies.
“I didn’t send out people to meet with the public,” Giner said about the core of her work. “I went.”
Accessible fact sheets, a social media presence and published materials from past citizens forums are some of the results Giner credits to her four-year plan.
“The biggest challenge will be to maintain the stamina on this,” she said. “And to maintain the stamina, you have to know the details and you have to know Mexico.
Giner, a registered professional engineer, previously served as general manager of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, an institution that developed environmental infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border in association with the North American Development Bank.
“Having that background in Mexico and knowing their programs, knowing the technical language and not relying on translators … those are the things that I think are really important in being able to advance the interests of the United States when an important piece of it involves activities in Mexico,” Giner added.
Giner also holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Loyola Marymount University and a master of business administration from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Emily Allen, IBWC area operations manager, announced work on the International Collector in Mexico continues as of this week during a forum in Coronado.
“We will have less debris and sediment at our plant which is the big challenge that we have had,” Giner said about a successful completion of the International Collector. “It’ll also help control the volume of flow coming into our plant, so we won’t have the damage that was caused by our plant when we had so much flow and we could not get it under control.”
Prior to her resignation, Giner informed staff, U.S. elected officials and the public about daily meetings with Mexico on that project.
“I think that built a lot of trust,” she said. “Change comes at the rate of trust.”
This year, the plant’s contract for management and maintenance will go out to bid, which Giner anticipates a lot of interest.
Giner declined to comment on lawsuits alleging Veolia’s mismanagement of the plant.
“I think the competitive process will select the best company to operate this plant,” she said.
Giner pointed out Mexico only has 40% of the funding in the third year of Minute 328, a five-year U.S.-Mexico agreement of infrastructure projects.
“If they don’t meet their commitments, there should be consequences,” she said, “for discharging wastewater into another community.”
Coronado’s commitment
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.
The commission is in the midst of spending $600 million to repair the plant, which may take up to five years to complete.
Earlier this year, Coronado Mayor John Duncan wrote a letter to Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, about a commitment to end cross-border pollution and protect Coronado’s beaches, economy and military personnel.
“Should the Trump-Vance administration wish to nominate a different commissioner, the city respectfully urges the administration to consider an individual whose qualifications are as outstanding as those of Dr. Giner, and who has significant experience managing large infrastructure construction projects,” said Duncan in a letter on March 12. “We are at a critical juncture given the relatively recent award of the design-build contract and groundbreaking on the expansion of the plant.”
Coronado Councilwoman Carrie Anne Downey said she was heartened by the selection of Commissioner McIntosh considering his background and decades of experience.
“[McIntosh] has seen how to comply with environmental regulations both from a regulated as well as a regulator,” said Downey in a statement. “I’m very hopeful he will continue Dr. Giner’s very open and transparent management of the plant and keeping the public informed.”
Considering Mexico has much less resources, Giner urged the need to continue to monitor and track important milestones so that this situation does not slip again in Mexico.
“You need to continue advocating for yourself. You need to keep speaking up. You need to keep holding the IBWC accountable, like you did for me, and you need to keep holding Mexico accountable. It’s a team effort,” she said, addressing communities affected by the crisis.
“I wish I could have waved a wand and got that relief because I know people are suffering down [in the South Bay] and I think it’s important to continue pushing for that relief,” Giner added.
Giner received a plaque signed by her colleagues, including a poem, among gifts and cards she received during luncheon in the days following her resignation on April 21.
“A beacon bright, a guiding light, You pushed this agency to take flight,” the poem says. “So thank you, MEG, from all of us, For the opportunities and undaunting trust Your legacy is forever etched In the 2,000-mile southern border stretch.”
