Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) slammed President Trump’s budget proposal which, among many other drastic cuts, completely eliminates the Environmental Protection Agency’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program. This program is a bi-national partnership that provides grants for water infrastructure projects along the U.S.-Mexico border that benefit public health and the environment on both sides of the border. The program has funded and would continue to fund repairs to sewage infrastructure that is at risk of rupturing and causing major sewage spills like the one that closed beaches and threated public health in San Diego County last month.

Rep. Peters released the following statement:

“President Trump’s proposed budget would endanger the resources and cross-border coordination needed to continue improving water infrastructure along the border – including Tijuana’s sewage system – and prevent spills like the one we saw last month.

“The reality is that we live in a bi-national region. There are miles of sewer pipes in Tijuana that are in desperate need of repairs. We know that one solution to protect our beaches and bays is to improve the sewer infrastructure along the border. President Trump’s budget proposal would rob us of that solution and make it more difficult to complete necessary repairs to help prevent this kind of spill from happening again.

“San Diego is defined by our relationship with the ocean, and sewage spills like these are a direct threat to our economy and our way of life. I am going to work with my colleagues in Congress to defend this program against President Trump’s reckless budget.”