Pressure is building from both sides of the political aisle for a permanent fix to the ongoing flows of sewage and other contamination in the Tijuana River that have fouled the South Bay for decades.
U.S. Border Patrol agents working in the Tijuana River Valley recently renewed their public concerns about the health risks of working in the muddy, often polluted terrain — drawing sympathy from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
“It’s impacting our ability to effectively patrol that area,” said Chris Harris, a border agent and secretary with the National Border Patrol Council Local 1613, the union representing agents stationed in the region.
“There’s whole areas we can’t go into. I caught two guys (crossing illegally) that were covered with the mud,” he added. “Mud got on my arms, and within seconds I had huge rashes.”
Rains in early May again flooded the river valley along the border with contamination from Mexico, shuttering shorelines. This followed a massive series of spills earlier this year, including 28 million gallons of raw sewage and more than 250 million gallons of wastewater. As a result, beaches as far north as Coronado were closed for weeks.
Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, this week made public a letter he sent to the Trump istration asking for help in addressing the pollution, which he said threatens the health of border agents and has hindered the ability to “respond to national security priorities.”
His correspondence — addressed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt — described work conditions that caused agents to fall ill and abandon their posts to seek medical attention.
“Our Border Patrol agents require every resource our government can provide that allows them to perform the important responsibilities we’ve asked of them,” Hunter said Friday. “This includes full ability and partnership from Mexico when a critical issue such as the current sewage spill occurs and has such a direct impact on our agents and their families.”
In recent weeks, a number of high-profile meetings have taken place between of Congress and officials with the International Boundary and Water Commission, a binational agency that oversees water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico.
An uncommon alliance has formed out of these talks between Democrats such as Rep. Juan Vargas, whose San Diego district includes the border region, and conservatives such Hunter and Rep. Darrel Issa, R-Vista.
“Congressman Vargas and I are planning a trip to meet with officials down there (in Tijuana),” Issa said. “We’ll be bringing of the (Trump) istration with us, probably in the next month.”
Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat whose district includes Coronado, said he also has reached out to several high-ranking officials in the istration and welcomes the efforts by Hunter and Issa.
“Having my Republican colleagues weigh in, particularly those with closer ties to the istration, will hopefully get their attention,” he said. “We need the Trump istration to make this very serious health risk a priority.”
Despite various parties’ concerns that leaders in Tijuana aren’t giving the issue due attention, officials with the U.S. side of the International Boundary and Water Commission said Mexico is collaborating on the search for long-term fixes.
“We are diligently working together toward a permanent solution,” said Lori Kuczmanski, spokeswoman for the U.S. side of the commission.
At the state level, Assemblyman Todd Gloria and Senator Ben Hueso, both Democrats from San Diego, are spearheading legislation that would reallocate $2.1 million of state funds to help address issues related to failing sewage infrastructure in Tijuana.
In the 1990s, as much as 10 million gallons of raw sewage flowed daily into the Tijuana River and north across into San Diego’s coastal waters. After billions of dollars of investment on both sides of the border, nearly all wastewater collected in the city is now treated.
Tijuana and other towns that border the U.S. are said to have some of the best wastewater infrastructure in Mexico, in large part due to U.S. grants and federal programs in both countries that facilitate low-interest loans.
Mexican officials have said efforts to upgrade and expand Tijuana’s wastewater infrastructure have taken on a new urgency of late.
Officials in Tijuana have acknowledged their system needs significant upgrades and laid out a blueprint this year for doing so. To be put in motion, the plan still needs a large infusion of federal dollars from both the U.S. and Mexico.
However, there’s been serious concern that looming budget cuts under the Trump istration could hobble binational grants and other funding needed to complete the sizable undertaking.
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