Feinstein, Padilla Call For $310M In Emergency Funding To Address Tijuana Border Pollution

Washington – Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) today called on Senate leadership to include $310M in the upcoming emergency supplemental bill to repair infrastructure needed to treat raw sewage spilling across the border from Mexico.

“While normal conditions overwhelm the system, Tropical Storm Hilary pushed hundreds-of-millions of gallons more of untreated stormwater and wastewater across the border, polluting nearby waterways and the ocean,” the senators wrote.

“In 2019, the California delegation secured $300M in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant from 25 million gallons per day to 50 million gallons per day, which will alleviate the pollution burden. However, the International Boundary and Water Commission and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have identified urgent repairs to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant that must be undertaken before expanding capacity.”

Feinstein and Padilla successfully secured language in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations package to eliminate red tape and allow the EPA to deliver $300M previously secured in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the International Boundary and Water Commission for water infrastructure projects.

Full text of the letter is available here and follows:

August 29, 2023

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair
U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
Washington DC 20510

Dear Leader Schumer and Chair Murray:

We write to request $310 million in the upcoming supplemental to repair infrastructure needed to treat raw sewage spilling across the border from Mexico, fouling California beaches, degrading U.S. Navy readiness, and harming the health of Customs and Border Protection agents, U.S. Coast Guardsmen, and millions of Americans in Southern California.

More than 100 billion gallons of toxic effluent have entered the United States through the Tijuana River since 2018, routinely pumping dangerous bacteria into regional waterways and closing beaches up and down the coast.  Since 2017, the Customs and Border Protection union has notified us that agents suffer chemical burns, rashes, headaches, and other ailments from exposure to raw sewage and industrial and chemical discharge flowing across the border. While normal conditions overwhelm the system, Tropical Storm Hilary pushed hundreds-of-millions of gallons more of untreated stormwater and wastewater across the border, polluting nearby waterways and the ocean.

In 2019, the California delegation secured $300 million in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant from 25 million gallons per day to 50 million gallons per day, which will alleviate the pollution burden. However, the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have identified urgent repairs to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) that must be undertaken before expanding capacity.

We have attached letters from Governor Newsom, as well as the State of California Environmental Protection Agency and California Natural Resources Agency requesting urgent federal assistance.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. The recent historic storm underscores the urgency of the situation. We look forward to your response. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Alex Padilla
United States Senator