September 13, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50) led a bipartisan request to congressional leadership for additional funds to repair and upgrade the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in any upcoming emergency disaster funding package. Rehabilitating and expanding the SBIWTP is critical to address the ongoing Tijuana River transboundary sewage crisis, which has now closed local beaches for more than 1,000 days in a row.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

Padilla and Peters led a similar request last year and secured President Biden’s inclusion of the request in his proposed domestic supplemental package. The lawmakers successfully secured language in the FY 2023 appropriations package to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to deliver $300 million previously secured in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) for water infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the SBIWTP from 25 million gallons per day (mgd) to 50 mgd.

“Years of underinvestment have reduced the [South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant]’s capacity to treat the toxic effluent it receives, resulting in the discharge of treated and untreated stormwater and wastewater into the ocean. As a result, tides carrying polluted water into San Diego degrade the environment, disrupt U.S. Navy and border security operations, and threaten the local economy,” wrote the lawmakers.

“Securing emergency funding is crucial to rehabilitate and expand the plant in order to protect public health and the environment, and to stop the economic damage cross-border sewage flows have had on our communities for far too long. For these reasons, we are requesting the highest amount of funding possible for [the International Boundary and Water Commission] in any supplemental package or budget deal in order to address deferred maintenance and expand capacity at SBIWTP,” continued the lawmakers.

In just the last five years, more than 100 billion gallons of toxic sewage, trash, and unmanaged stormwater have flowed across the United States-Mexico border into the Tijuana River Valley and neighboring communities, forcing long-lasting beach closures and creating significant negative impacts on water quality, public health, and the environment. Last year, sewage flowed across the border at the highest volume in a quarter century, exceeding 44 billion gallons.

The Tijuana River pollution crisis has disproportionately harmed underserved communities along San Diego’s southern border for decades. U.S. military personnel, border patrol agents, and the local environment and economy have also suffered harmful impacts from waterborne and airborne transboundary sewage flows.

In addition to Senator Padilla and Representative Peters, the bipartisan letter was signed by Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Representatives Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas-02), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.-31), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.-03), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52).

Senator Padilla has prioritized addressing the Tijuana River pollution crisis since he first came to the Senate, securing over $103 million in additional funding for the IBWC in the bipartisan FY 2024 appropriations package earlier this year. The Senate Appropriations Committee also recently advanced FY25 appropriations legislation that includes another $159 million for IBWC construction that Padilla requested to continue funding projects to address Tijuana River pollution.

Last week, Senator Padilla and Representatives Vargas and Peters announced bicameral legislation to help combat the Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis. Padilla previously visited the IBWC facility and the Tijuana River Valley in June 2023. Additionally, he wrote to the IBWC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year to request an update on how the agencies plan to work together to address the ongoing Tijuana River transboundary sewage pollution crisis and repair the SBIWTP. Padilla also recently secured $10 million in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 for the Tijuana River Valley Watershed to help address the ongoing transboundary sewage crisis through stormwater conveyance, environmental and ecosystem restoration, and water quality protection projects.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries:

We write to urgently request full funding for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in any upcoming disaster supplemental package.

The State Department’s International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) operates a federally owned water treatment facility, the SBIWTP, along the San Diego-Tijuana border to treat the transnational flow of polluted water. Years of underinvestment have reduced the SBIWTP’s capacity to treat the toxic effluent it receives, resulting in the discharge of treated and untreated stormwater and wastewater into the ocean. As a result, tides carrying polluted water into San Diego degrade the environment, disrupt U.S. Navy and border security operations, and threaten the local economy.

In 2021, the San Diego Congressional delegation secured $300 million in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to fund an expansion of the SBIWTP from 25 million gallons per day (mgd) to 50 mgd. This funding, in combination with Fiscal Year 2024 funding, has supported the planning, study, and design of projects critical for the rehabilitation and expansion of SBIWTP. However, last year we learned that significantly more funding is needed to rehabilitate the plant before the IBWC can expand the plant. These new costs jeopardize the United States’ ability to fulfill its international obligations under the treaty known as Minute 328.

Securing emergency funding is crucial to rehabilitate and expand the plant in order to protect public health and the environment, and to stop the economic damage cross-border sewage flows have had on our communities for far too long. For these reasons, we are requesting the highest amount of funding possible for IBWC in any supplemental package or budget deal in order to address deferred maintenance and expand capacity at SBIWTP. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
Source: Senator Alex Padilla