22-04-2025
Imperial Beach residents demand change ahead of EPA administrator's visit to San Diego
IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — After announcing his plans to visit the United States-Mexico border earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator will meet with community leaders in the South Bay on Tuesday to assess the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on X that he was flying into San Diego on Monday night ahead of his tour, adding in the post he aims to ramp up efforts to permanently end the raw sewage crisis.
For decades, South Bay locals have dealt with gallons of raw sewage pouring over the border and a smell that knows no boundaries.
'Inside. Outside. Close your windows. Open your windows, you smell it,' said Baron Partlow, the founder of Stop the Poop.
Partlow says that's what's causing a stall in local business and a lull in tourism.
'This is starting to get a lot of national traction,' he said. 'People don't want to come to Imperial Beach when they see and hear what's going on here.'
That national attention brings the EPA administrator Lee Zeldin to San Diego for a tour of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and a helicopter tour of the Tijuana River Valley.
'For decades there's been raw sewage that's been traveling across the border, and Americans are very concerned in regard to beach closures and the degradation of the Tijuana River Valley,' Zeldin said in a press conference on Monday.
Zeldin also plans to meet with community leaders and Navy SEALs, aiming to finalize a plan to permanently end this decades-long problem.
'He needs to see it, smell it, and breathe it, just like we do,' Partlow said.
Zeldin says that plan includes collaborating with Mexico to stop the millions of gallons of polluted water flowing across the border every day.
'There's a lot that we've put together as it relates to the demands of Mexico, the requests of Mexico,' he added.
This comes as the Trump administration replaces International Boundary and Water Commissioner, Maria Elena Giner, who formerly oversaw the management of the sewage crisis.
In her resignation letter posted on Linked-In, Giner congratulated her replacement, Chad McIntosh, writing 'As sad as I feel leaving this position, I am proud of our accomplishments at the IBWC during our almost four years together. There was much ground to cover given the insufficient funding provided to the agency for decades.'
'What we expect is for him to go to President Trump and tell him we're in trouble,' Partlow said when asked about what he wants to see following Zeldin's visit.
Most recently, Imperial Beach has been closed since Jan. 18, but the closures extend years before this one, and South Bay residents hope this visit leads to long-term change.
'We're very hopeful, but we drink the Kool-Aid of the broken promises that have been given to us,' Partlow said.
Ahead of the tour, several environmental groups plan to protest outside of the Marine base to denounce what they call the Trump administration's attack on nonprofits and the environment.
For more information on water quality in San Diego County, click here.
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