This year has seen many developments in the Tijuana sewage crisis – expedited timelines, memorandums of understanding, attempts at Superfund designation. And the most recent: a new agreement signed by the U.S. and Mexico called Minute 333.
Before your eyes glaze over at the mention of another unintelligible bureaucratic term, let’s break down what this agreement really means, and where it puts us enroute to a final solution to this decades-long problem.
We saw a memorandum of understanding, or a “firm handshake,” between the U.S. and Mexico come through in July. This agreement, not legally-binding, promised funding and expedited timelines for expanded sewage treatment and infrastructure. It also promised the signing of Minute 333, which was officially adopted Dec. 15.
The dates are important here because they are evidence that U.S. and Mexican officials are meeting deadlines and following through on their promises – so far.
Through a series of “minutes,” commissioners within the International Boundary and Water Commission record the decisions they make for planning, construction and maintenance of cross-border water-related issues – the sewage crisis next door being one of them.
Once approved by the U.S. and Mexico, the minutes become binding obligations for both countries. Instead of needing a massive overhaul to the 1944 Treaty with Mexico, minutes act as amendments, each one reflecting adaptations to the treaty over the years.
Minute 328, is still being implemented, but its project timelines were accelerated under the MOU. This new agreement reconfirms commitment to those actions from the MOU – installing an ocean outfall, expanding treatment capacity at the Tijuana plant from 18 million gallons per day (mgd) to 43 mgd, and updating a water master plan, to name a few.
Essentially it’s another way to say, “We’re still working on it.”
There is one addition that had been missing from previous agreements though: making sure Tijuana’s water infrastructure accounts for future population growth.
What we’re seeing in this new pact is a commitment to actions that were already identified in the MOU. But now, those commitments have more teeth as a “binding obligation.”
What we aren’t seeing yet is insurance that Mexico won’t repeat the failures that got us to this point.
Maybe the best vehicle to do so is through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Coronado leaders seem to think so. In November, the city sent a letter to Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, asking to incorporate more enforcement mechanisms for Mexico when the USMCA is reviewed in July.
In the letter, city officials say they strongly support “any mechanism to ensure that Mexico stops sending raw sewage and toxic waste to the United States.”
The letter claims incentives alone have been ineffective. It’s time for real, measurable consequences. These could include economic, trade, and monetary penalties.
The train has left the station in terms of forward-moving progress – the adoption of Minute 333 is evidence of that. But we still need more commitment and enforcement to make sure our local beaches aren’t getting infiltrated with sewage 30 years down the road.
