The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 9 unanimously approved new studies to assess public health, economic impacts and toxic gas implications from what supervisors called one of the worst environmental justice catastrophes in the country, the Tijuana River sewage crisis. On Sept. 9, all district supervisors supported County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre’s request […]
Investigations
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CDC survey: South Bay residents, visitors feel threatened by sewage crisis
Over two-thirds of South Bay people who responded to a federal survey about their experience with the Tijuana River Valley and polluted beaches in San Diego said they do not believe those sites are safe to work in, live in or visit. On July 8, San Diego County announced results from an Assessment of Chemical […]
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IBWC on track for 100-day plan to increase treatment of flows by 10 mgd
The International Boundary and Water Commission is on track to finish its 100-day fast track plan to increase treatment of flows at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant from the current 25 million gallons of sewage per day (mgd) to 35 mgd, according to Mike Watson, senior vice president and director of design build […]
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San Diego cities call on feds to block water from Tijuana and restrict commercial border crossings
Local officials in San Diego and Imperial Beach are urging the U.S. government to threaten drastic action against the country’s neighbor and longtime ally unless Mexico finally cleans up the transborder sewage mess spewing from Tijuana. That action – purportedly under discussion in the Trump administration – could include cutting off Tijuana’s primary water supply […]
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UCSD study unveils the threat Tijuana River pollution poses to air quality in San Diego
An odor, described as a “rotten egg” smell, often fills Imperial Beach resident Rosie Montaño’s home. “It’s to the point where, I mean, you’re breathing it,” she says. “… You’re just like ‘Oh my god!’” That stench is attributed to hydrogen sulfide – a product of decaying human wastes emanating from sewage in the nearby […]
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U.S. expedites timeline of expansion project at South Bay plant
The dilapidated South Bay sewage treatment plant, crucial to treating wastewater flows coming across the U.S.-Mexico border, now has an expedited timeline – an expansion that was scheduled to finish in two years, is now on track for completion in 100 days. The United States International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), along with the U.S. […]
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Veolia: A look at the track record of a mega-corporation operating the border sewage plant
Amid beach closure signs and a stench of human waste, there are at least two ways to perceive Veolia, the corporation that operates a border sewage treatment plant at the center of San Diego County’s coastal pollution crisis. From a critic’s viewpoint – as expressed in courtrooms and by industry watchdogs — the French conglomerate […]
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‘I can’t imagine living with it’: Tijuana River sewage crisis brings head of EPA to San Diego
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled to San Diego on April 21 pressing for solutions for cross-border sewage contamination from Tijuana. He did not immediately come away with an agreement, but said the United States is urging Mexico to accept a list of unspecified plans that would end the flow of wastewater onto […]
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Commissioner overseeing sewage crisis replaced by Trump administration
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 […]
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EPA sticks with decision to not investigate Tijuana River Valley for Superfund designation
In a video posted on Instagram on March 18, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre hastily rips a letter in half while standing beside the Tijuana River, watching fetid foam flow past atop the murky waters – the source of an ongoing cross-border sewage pollution crisis. “This is being aerosolized, it’s going into people’s homes, into […]
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Coronado officially declares local emergency for sewage crisis
The Coronado City Council officially declared a local emergency on March 4 in connection with the transborder flow of Tijuana sewage that has contaminated the local coastline and air. The council had previously declined to pursue a declaration of emergency, arguing that it would only be a symbolic move, rather than affecting any actual change. […]
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Potentially flawed Mexico treatment plant impacts sewage crisis progress
Coronado Mayor John Duncan expressed concern about a report that Mexico may have installed the wrong pumps at the San Antonio de los Buenos (SAB) wastewater treatment plant in Tijuana, further delaying efforts to stanch coastal sewage pollution. “It is essential that the Mexico sewage treatment plant come online as soon as possible to remedy […]
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CDC to study hydrogen sulfide levels in the air near Tijuana River
By the thousands, South San Diego households have told health officials they believe the air quality is unsafe. A Jan. 6 report that pulls from a community health survey found that 77% of South Bay residents consider the Tijuana River Valley pollution and ocean sewage a threat to public health in the region. The San […]
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EPA denies request from local leaders to investigate Tijuana River Valley for Superfund designation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a request from local leaders to analyze if the Tijuana River Valley qualifies for Superfund designation – a verdict determined based on a 6-year-old study. The EPA said in a Jan. 3 letter to local officials that inspecting for Superfund designation – which could allow the EPA […]
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Biden signs bill with $250 million in funding for South Bay plant
A bill signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 21 sets the stage for more than $250 million in additional upgrades for a dilapidated wastewater treatment plant at the U.S. Mexican border. The funding for the International Wastewater Treatment Plant is an earmarked section of a stopgap bill, which includes more than $100 billion in […]
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County investigating correlation of sewage pollution and airborne illness
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors this week directed public health staffers to assist a local task force that is investigating whether airborne pathogens from Tijuana sewage are causing illnesses in Imperial Beach and the South Bay area. Chairwoman Nora Vargas and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer signed a policy directing Public Health Service employees […]