WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Mike Levin (CA-49) introduced an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to help combat toxic sewage pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. This amendment would establish a new federal program - the Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program - to plan, coordinate, and provide grants for public health and water quality restoration projects in the Tijuana River Valley.

“As we work to stop the unmitigated flows of hazardous water, we must contend with the decades of pollution already caused by this crisis,” said Rep. Scott Peters. “Our proposal puts restoration efforts in San Diego on par with places like the Great Lakes, San Francisco Bay, and Long Island Sound. This will mean more resources, better coordination, and a real federal plan to clean up our waterways and help the communities that have borne the brunt of this environmental disaster.”

“Toxic pollution in the Tijuana River Valley has harmed the health and wellbeing of our communities for too long. We need all hands on deck to address this issue,” said Rep. Juan Vargas. “By establishing a new federal program aimed at combating pollution, our legislation will bring experts to the table to fully focus on this issue and drive more resources to impacted communities. I’m grateful to my San Diego Congressional delegation colleagues for joining this important comprehensive push.”

 “The regular flow of sewage and pollution from Mexico has damaged our public health, lowered our water quality, and made the Tijuana River one of the most endangered rivers in the country,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs. “While we’ve made significant progress lately to bring home hundreds of millions of federal dollars to address this crisis and we welcome Mexico’s increased cooperation, more work remains. That’s why I’m proud to support this amendment to restore and protect our water quality and increase collaboration among our federal, state, local, and regional entities and conservation partners to ensure our response is as efficient and effective as possible.”

“It’s critical that the Federal government does everything it can to stem the flow of toxic pollution into our waters,” said Rep. Mike Levin. “By creating a program that will help clean up the Tijuana River Valley, we can help protect the health of our communities, economies, and the local ecosystem. I’m grateful to my colleagues for helping advance this important amendment and strongly urge House leadership to ensure that it is included in the final NDAA.”

Background:

Representative Peters has, for years, worked to address the cross-border pollution that’s fouling San Diego’s coastal waters, including pushing for additional funding to fix and expand the dilapidated South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). Following are some recent actions:

2024

• In January, Rep. Peters took to the House floor to demand that the President’s requested $310 million to fix and expand the dilapidated SBIWTP be included in any upcoming spending deal.
• In February, Rep. Peters joined members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation to ask U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro about the effects cross-border pollution on Navy operations.
• In March, Rep. Peters celebrated the inclusion of $156 million, at his request, for the International Boundary and Water Commission’s (IBWC) construction budget in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations bill. The IBWC is the federal agency tasked with operating and maintaining the SBIWTP.
• In May, Rep. Peters joined Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16) in a bipartisan request for $278 million for the IBWC’s construction budget in the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations bill. at the center of the cross-border sewage crisis on the American side of the border.

2023

• In June, Rep. Peters led a letter with other members of the San Diego Congressional delegation to the governor of Baja California urging accountability for the Mexican government’s commitments to build wastewater treatment infrastructure.
• In July, members of the San Diego congressional delegation requested that the Environmental Protection Agency assist with directing environmental justice funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to help stop the flow of pollutants and urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tour the broken plant.
• Also in July, they sent a letter to President Biden and submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, calling on the administration to declare this crisis a federal emergency.
• In August, he led two letters to the Office of Management and Budget and to OMB and the State Department, calling for urgent additional funding to confront this crisis. 
• In September, he proposed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill to boost U.S.- Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program funding. Additionally, he proposed two amendments to the Fiscal Year 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill to boost annual construction funding to the USIBWC to $100 million.
• In October, Rep. Peters led a bipartisan letter to the Department of State demanding a full account of how the SBIWTP fell into such a severe state of disrepair.
• In December, he led a letter urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to include President Biden’s $310 million supplemental budget request to repair the SBIWTP in any upcoming funding package.

In previous years, Peters along with colleagues, has secured funding, introduced legislation, called for investigations, and arranged a visit by EPA Administrator Regan in response to the wastewater contamination crisis. 

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