Imperial Beach leaders call for action on Tijuana River sewage crisis
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Imperial Beach city leaders are calling for more federal accountability and legislative actions to address the ongoing Tijuana River pollution.
In a four to one vote, the city council approved a resolution Wednesday night that lists several priorities to help solve the public health crisis. Mayor Paloma Aguirre was the only dissenting vote.
The resolution, spearheaded by Councilmember Mitch McKay, is largely symbolic as Imperial Beach has no jurisdiction over any of the actions, but it intends to send a message to the federal government, as well as state and local partners, about possible next steps.
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'We think Mexico wants to be good neighbors. But on the same token, if we're not enforcing the laws or the rules and they don't see it as necessary or there's any incentive to do it, maybe they're not going to do it,' said McKay.
The resolution urges Congress to adopt legislation that strengthens enforcement of international water and environmental treaty obligations, and hold Mexico accountable for failing to control transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River.
It calls for the acceleration of the implementation by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) of the design and construction of the Tijuana River Diversion project to capture and treat transboundary flows in the river, as well as the acceleration of the implementation by IBWC of a permanent trash capture system for the main Tijuana River channel.
The resolution also strongly opposes the construction of a 50-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito as part of Mexico's National Water Plan, unless Mexico completes the wastewater recycling projects identified in IBWC Treaty Minute 328 anddemonstrates sufficient capacity and funding to provide wastewater treatment for any new potable water deliveries.
The resolution asks Congress to consider passing statutory enforcement requirements to regulate or restrict the export of potable water into the City of Tijuana, Mexico during any health-related threat(s) declared by the County of San Diego (DEH). According to the resolution, Tijuana depends on the U.S. for 90% of its water imports.
The council also decided to amend the resolution to request that Congress consider restrictions could also include limited commercial crossing activity at U.S. ports of entry during the aforementioned declared health threats. Other approved amendments urge California and the federal government to declare states of emergencies in relation to the sewage crisis.
'Commercial is where the biggest money is. We don't want to hurt the individuals. We don't want to hurt those who are coming to work in our country or those coming to shop,' said District 2 Councilmember Jack Fisher.
While Mayor Aguirre expressed support for the majority of the actions in the resolution, she expressed concerns over how language related to crossing activity would be perceived in relation to immigration.
Some residents worry about the possible economic impacts that could have.
'Limiting cross border activity even temporarily would have serious impact repercussions for our region,' said Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce CEO, Marcy Weaver.
The resolution additionally directs SANDAG to continue to advocate for potential funding sources from the Mexican share of the toll revenues to offset the detrimental impacts of the transportation, trade and population nexus being created at Otay Mesa East Port of Entry.
It also requests President Trump consider initiating an executive order requiring such near-termactions with enforcement, as necessary, by all Federal Entities and departments, including but not limited to: Department of State, EPA and the Department of the Navy.
'Lee Zeldin is coming to town next week and we're asking him to take a look at this as well, and say 'hey are there things we're missing?' Are there things that are already in place that we should be doing that can help this problem?' asked McKay.
EPA Administrator Zeldin will visit San Diego on Tuesday, saying on 'X' Wednesday that his visit is meant, 'to ramp up efforts to permanently end decades of raw sewage entering the U.S. from Mexico.' He also said, 'A comprehensive plan must IMMEDIATELY and URGENTLY be deployed to stop this contamination coming from across the border.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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