Washington D.C. - Today, at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) thanked Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin for touring the U.S.-Mexico border in southern San Diego and for his commitment to address the scourge of cross-border wastewater pollution. This follows a joint announcement from the EPA and U.S. International Border and Water Commission (IBWC) this morning, that both agencies will speed up the first phase of the incremental expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) from two years to 100 days. This phase will increase the plant’s capacity to treat wastewater from 25 to 35 million gallons per day (mgd). The full project to repair and expand the dilapidated plant, for which Representative Peters and the San Diego delegation have secured $360 million in the last 18 months, will double treatment capacity to 50 mgd. 

During the hearing, Rep. Peters stated, “I want to thank you for your recent visit to the South Bay and your tour of the Tijuana River Valley. This contamination issue remains, what I believe is one of the worst environmental catastrophes of the hemisphere and we are so encouraged by your commitment to working on a 100% solution... We’ve all worked really hard to get resources here — Republicans and Democrats. You have a partner here, and we’re happy to partner with you.”  

During his opening remarks, EPA Administrator Zeldin stated, “[We] have issued immediate action items for Mexico to permanently and urgently end the Tijuana River sewage crisis that has plagued Southern California for decades.”  

Last month, EPA Administrator Zeldin toured the South Bay at Rep. Peters’ invitation to see firsthand the ecological, economic, and health harms caused by this crisis.  

Further Background: 

Representative Peters has, for years, worked to address the cross-border pollution fouling San Diego’s coastal waters, including pushing for additional funding to fix and expand the dilapidated SBIWTP. The following are some recent actions: 

2025 

1. In March, Rep. Peters introduced legislation to authorize the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to accept funding from federal and non-federal entities for wastewater treatment, flood control projects, or other water conservation efforts. 

2024 

1. 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. 

2. In February, Rep. Peters joined members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation to ask U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro about the effects of cross-border pollution on Navy operations. 

3. 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. 

4. 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. 

5. In August, Rep. Peters hosted Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma on a tour of the broken wastewater treatment plant. 

6. In September, Rep. Peters joined members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation to reiterate their call for a federal state of emergency declaration amid high levels of toxic gases. 

7. In December, Rep. Peters and the Congressional delegation successfully fought to include an additional $250 million to fully repair and expand the capacity of the SBIWTP in the government funding bill. This brought the total amount of funds secured to $650 million. 

2023 

1. 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. 

2. 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. 

3. 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. 

4. 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.  

5. 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. 

6. In October, Rep. Peters led a bipartisan letter to the Department of State demanding a complete account of how the SBIWTP fell into such a severe state of disrepair. 

7. 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 and colleagues have 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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