Cross Border Water Pollution

The City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Cross Border Water Quality will present the quarterly report at the May 7, 2024, City Council meeting and will provide direction, as appropriate, to staff regarding the City's Cross Border Water Quality advocacy efforts.

• City Council Staff Report, May 7 2024
• PowerPoint Presentation May 7, 2024
• Archived Video Meetings, May 7 2024

Regional Cross Border Infrastructure Map

On March 22, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that will inject $200.85 million to the International Boundary and Water Commission’s budget, including $156 million for water quality construction projects. The new Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill was announced March 21 and swiftly came to a vote. Having passed the House of Representatives, the bill is expected to come to a vote in the Senate today. The IBWC is the federal agency tasked with operating and maintaining the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP), which is urgently in need of repair and expansion to mitigate the impacts that originate from cross-border pollution. This pollution critically impacts San Diego County’s south bay communities, including the City of Coronado.

The funding is a $103 million increase from the previous fiscal year and will facilitate repair and expansion of the plant. The bill also includes a funds transfer authority to enable IBWC to receive funds from other federal and non-federal agencies, enabling them to find other funding streams to support the critically needed improvements to the SBIWTP.

The Coronado City Council created an Ad Hoc Committee on Cross Border Water Quality on April 2, 2023. The Subcommittee members include Mayor Richard Bailey and Councilmember John Duncan. Along with Councilmember Carrie Downey, who is the City’s representative to the National League of Cities, the Councilmembers have advocated on behalf of Coronado for additional funding to effectively address infrastructure improvements needed in the U.S. and Mexico.

“The City of Coronado has tirelessly advocated for a fix to the cross-border water crisis,” said Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey. “This federal funding is critical in addressing the Tijuana River sewage crisis. We recognize the diligent efforts of our State and local officials who all successfully fought for $220.85 million in funding for the IBWC. Thank you to our Coronado residents and our City councilmembers for their steadfast attention and support of our advocacy to this public health threat.”

The City of Coronado appreciates the support and actions taken by Congressmember Scott Peters, in conjunction with the San Diego delegation in the House, and Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, who all successfully pushed for $220.85 million in funding for the IBWC.

Over the past several months, delegations of local officials from San Diego County including Mayor Richard Bailey, Councilmember Carrie Downey, Councilmember John Duncan and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for supplemental funds to address the pressing Tijuana River pollution crisis before Congress and the White House. The deteriorating wastewater infrastructure in Tijuana and at the IBWC’s International Wastewater Treatment Plant has led to intermittent closures in the ocean along Coronado’s coastline.

On January 29, 2024 Governor Newsom reiterated his strong support for inclusion of $310 million in the federal emergency supplemental appropriations bill or final FY 2024 budget appropriations package to address the Tijuana River sewage crisis. The funds are needed to repair long-neglected infrastructure at the South Bay International Wastewater Plant.

>> Governor Newsom to Congress: Act Now on Tijuana River Crisis, January 29, 2024

Members of San Diego’s congressional delegation are asking the U.S. Dept. of the Navy to release data that may reveal the true effects the Tijuana sewage crisis has had on Naval operations. On January 23, 2024, Representatives Juan Vargas, Scott Peters, Sara Jacobs, Darrell Issa and Mike Levin wrote a letter to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro requesting statistics for 2022 and 2023. The letter to Secretary Del Toro can be found here.

Jan 29, 2024 - Governor Newsom sent a letter to Congress affirming the critical importance of federal funding to solve the ongoing crisis in the Tijuana River Valley. The Governor reiterated that Congress must approve the $310 million that President Biden included in his emergency supplemental appropriations bill to address contamination in the cross-border river.

• Governor's Letter Affirming Critical Importance of Federal Funding

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) reported on January 11, 2024 the groundbreaking ceremony held for the project to design, construction, and rehabilitation of the San Antonio de los Buenos (SAB) Treatment plant located south of Tijuana, Mexico. The groundbreaking ceremony included the participation of US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar and Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda.

The project is fully funded by Mexico at a cost of $37M USD and will include the rehabilitation of the existing SAB Treatment Plant as well as wastewater treatment upgrades. Completion of the project is scheduled for September 2024. The rehabilitated SAB Treatment Plant will treat 18 million gallons per day which will reduce the volume of untreated wastewater discharged into the ocean at SAB.

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC) has posted the solicitation for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) Rehabilitation and Expansion Progressive Design-Build on SAM.gov. Bids are due by February 8, 2024

More details:

https://www.ibwc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/SBIWTP-Rehab-Exp-Solicitation_Final.pdf

During their annual Business Meeting on November 18, 2023, in Atlanta Georgia, the National League of Cities issued a resolution to Increase funding for border water infrastructure projects.

• National League of Cities Resolution

October 25, 2023 Washington D.C. – Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) applauded President Biden’s inclusion of $310 million to fix and expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in his emergency supplemental funding request. The project is desperately needed to tackle dangerous cross-border wastewater pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. Last month, Rep. Peters led a request to congressional leaders for this same funding. The President’s request throws the administration’s support behind Rep. Peters’ work and makes it more likely that these funds are included in any final funding package approved by Congress.

“San Diegans have called on the federal government to put an end to this crisis for years. Today, thanks to their overwhelming advocacy and dedicated work from elected officials at every level of government, the President has responded to our pleas for help,” said Rep. Peters.

He continued, “Make no mistake, this is not a ‘mission accomplished’ moment. This funding will need to be approved by both chambers of Congress, which remains an uphill battle, and I am already working to ensure we have the votes to get it across the finish line. I know our Senators are also working to convince their colleagues and I urge them to please not ease up on their advocacy.”

Read full press release

The EPA, in partnership with the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) and Mexico, continues to address the urgent transboundary pollution issues in the San Diego/Tijuana region. Below is an interim update on specific progress made since our May 2023 Eligible Public Entities Coordinating Group (EPECG) and public information meetings:

• Mexico has completed the rehabilitation of the Oriente Collector, completed 20% construction of the new International Collector, and will complete by December 2023 installation of the pressurized lines carrying wastewater and river water to the coast. Mexico will also soon begin repairs of Pump Station 1. Combined, these projects in Tijuana will help prevent future spills of up to 58 million gallons per day (mgd) from entering the U.S. Finally, Mexico plans to issue a solicitation for bids on the design and construction of a new 18 mgd wastewater treatment plant at San Antonio De Los Buenos in late 2023. Mexico expects to complete construction in two years.
  
  
• USIBWC recently announced immediate repairs (Junction Box 1 replacement, primary sedimentation tank cleaning and rehabilitation, and influent pumps rehabilitation) to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). Over the next 9-12 months these repairs will substantially improve compliance with the discharge permit. Incremental water quality improvement is expected to be seen much earlier.
  
  
• With respect to the USMCA project to expand the SBIWTP, as discussed previously, the full project costs (for expansion from 25 mgd to 50 mgd with a peaking factor and anaerobic digesters) have substantially increased from the original estimate of $300 million, largely due to a more thorough cost analysis performed during the pre-construction phase, in addition to unanticipated costs associated with rehabilitating the plant prior to expansion, inflation, market conditions, and labor shortages.

Because the updated cost estimates greatly exceed the available funding, EPA and USIBWC will proceed with a phased approach for the expansion of the SBIWTP to a 50 mgd plant with a peak capacity[1] of 75 mgd (allowing the plant to treat peaks in volume of water entering the plant). Anaerobic digestion is not included. Although the estimated cost for this project exceeds available USMCA funding by $310 million +/- 30%, EPA and USIBWC will proceed with a phased construction approach commensurate with available funding. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein called upon Senate leadership to include $310 million in the upcoming emergency supplemental bill to allow complete up-front funding for the expansion of the plant, which would allow for a much faster project completion. However, these additional funds are not secured at this time.

Nevertheless, USIBWC will issue a pre-solicitation notice in mid-October and solicit bids for this phased project in late fall 2023. Once selected, the design and construction contractors will develop an updated project schedule, which we will share with you. It’s important to note that the proposed SBIWTP expansion, in combination with the wastewater improvements in Mexico, will result in the elimination of approximately 90% of untreated flows entering the Pacific Ocean.