Fifteen mayors of San Diego County have joined forces to seek congressional funding for wastewater treatment to stop the flow of Tijuana River sewage that has a significant impact on county beaches. Citing the discharge of over 200 million gallons of sewage into the U.S. in February 2017. They requested that Congress provide critical funding to support wastewater infrastructure projects for the San Diego-Tijuana border region. The program is administered by the Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP) under the US Environmental Protection Agency.
In a recently released letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee in support of the BWIP program, the mayors pointed out that in addition to health concerns, the program is also important to the national security of the United States.
“I am grateful to my fellow mayors in San Diego County for joining forces to help solve this problem that impacts county residents from all walks of life including Navy and Border Patrol personnel who defend our national security,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina.
“It has been incredibly helpful to have the support and leadership of Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey who has been active on this issue literally from the day he took office. Having Coronado and Imperial Beach working together to keep our beaches clean is critical to make sure that our kids and families have access to clean beaches everyday of the year,” said Dedina
The letter, also sent to key leadership in the Environmental Protection Agency, stated that, “The purpose of the BWIP is to support binational cooperation on deficient water and wastewater infrastructure in the border region because of the enhanced economic activity and rapid population growth associated with the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
Recent spills of toxic sewage into the Tijuana River and adjacent border canyons have highlighted the need to fund infrastructure on both sides of the border in the U.S. and Mexico to prevent pollution from continuing to harm public health and our national security.
“Having regional and bi-partisan support is critical to fixing these problem along the border. I am confident that we can make progress in making sure that San Diegans have access to clean beaches throughout the county all year,” said Dedina.
Mayors who signed on to the letter include: Matt Hall of Carlsbad, Mary Salas of Chula Vista, Richard Bailey of Coronado, Terry Sinnott of Del Mar (under separate letter), Bill Wells of El Cajon, Catherine S. Blakespear of Encinitas, Sam Abed of Escondido, Serge Dedina of Imperial Beach, Mark Araposthathis of La Mesa, Racquel Vasquez of Lemon Grove, Ron Morrison of National City, Chuck Lowery of Oceanside, Jim Desmond of San Marcos, John W. Minto of Santee, Mike Nichols of Solana Beach, and Judy Ritter of Vista.
