The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Wednesday that urges the federal government to pressure Mexico to end the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
The resolution, brought forth by Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond, ed by a vote of 3-1. But it was Desmond who ultimately cast the lone “no” vote because the amended version officials approved doesn’t go far enough, he said.
Democratic Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe expressed concern that the original version was too broad and potentially played into “anti-Mexico rhetoric.”
“We’re over being afraid of hurting (Mexico’s) feelings,” said Desmond. “We gotta come across with some tough language.”
The discussion was the latest example of how the decades-long pollution crisis has become polarized when discussing what local governments should or shouldn’t do to address a binational problem directly affecting their constituents.
Officials approved a resolution that does not direct the county to take any new steps. Instead, it makes a statement that “this ongoing sewage flow is the acknowledged responsibility of the federal governments of the United States and Mexico and that this problem is beyond the capacity of any local municipality to mitigate and control.”
Specifically, the resolution calls on Congress to legislation that would hold Mexico able for failing to prevent sewage from polluting communities in the county’s southwest region. Some measures suggested include federal authorization to divert or restrict the Tijuana River temporarily in south San Diego. It also urges curtailing the export of potable water to Tijuana or limiting cross-border activity at U.S. ports of entry during sewage-linked emergencies that the county declares.
Mexico is already facing pressure from the Trump istration over shared water sources between the two nations. Earlier this year and for the first time in about half a century, the U.S. government refused to send water from the Colorado River to Tijuana, which faces severe droughts during the dry season. That’s because the Mexican government is behind schedule in delivering water to the Rio Grande, also known as Rio Bravo in Mexico, which is essential to Texas agriculture. The U.S. said Mexico must add a specific amount of water to the river by October.
Tijuana, with a population of approximately 2.3 million, is heavily reliant on imported water from the Colorado River. However, it is seeking alternative sources, including building a desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito, that would produce 50 million gallons of potable water daily.
Additionally, the resolution urges Congress to request that the U.S. president and the governor of California declare the sewage crisis a state of emergency.
Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe successfully omitted from the resolution language to encourage the federal government to use “economic sanctions, tariffs, (and) limitation of border crossing activity” anytime Mexico violates treaty obligations designed to prevent sewage spills. And until such federal legislation could be approved, President Donald Trump is urged to use executive orders to enforce treaty requirements.
“(The broad language) communicates too much leeway that could be outside of the scope of what we’re actually discussing,” said Montgomery Steppe.
Desmond’s resolution mirrored one that the Imperial Beach City Council approved in April. That resolution was spearheaded by the city’s Republican leaders and opposed by Democratic Mayor Paloma Aguirre. She agreed with every measure in the city’s resolution except for restricting border crossings as a form of penalty, arguing that the language mixed the sewage crisis with partisan politics on immigration. Imperial Beach Councilmember Mitch McKay revealed the resolution at a news conference alongside several Republican officials, including Aguirre’s opponent, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann. The two are running for county supervisor to represent District 1, which includes the communities affected by the sewage crisis.
Aguirre is proposing a plan of action that she believes the county should adopt. It suggests eliminating areas along the Tijuana River considered hot spots for pollution, creating a county “sewage crisis chief” position, conducting more public health studies and improving air quality in schools and child care centers with better ventilation systems.
On Monday, at a news conference with Lawson-Remer outside the County istration Center, Aguirre said that despite recent progress with wastewater treatment construction, South County residents continue to suffer daily.
“It’s time San Diego County gets off the sidelines,” she said. “We can’t just keep asking the federal government to step in when our own county government hasn’t stepped up.”
