SAN DIEGO. – “From horrible sewage odors to beach closures, toxic sewage pollution has plagued our communities for too long,” acknowledged Congressman Juan Vargas.
Vargas’s statement (District 52) occurred today, Wednesday, October 30, together with Scott Peters (District 50-CA) and Sara Jacobs (District 51-CA).
California lawmakers joined officials from the International Boundary and Water Commission, local leaders and community members to mark the launch of a rehabilitation and expansion project at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Juan Vargas considered that “these improvements at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant are a fundamental step in the fight to combat this pollution.”
It is stated in a statement issued by Juan Vargas’ office that “this project will use $400 million in federal funds that the San Diego congressional delegation secured to double the facility’s capacity and, when combined with Mexico’s action , prevent up to 90% of untreated wastewater from reaching the coast.”
Aspect of the work being done on the Mexican side at the height of the so-called Cabras Canyon in the western area of Tijuana-San Diego. Photo source: California Government Press Office.
Funds are secured
“I am pleased that our San Diego Congressional delegation was able to secure $400 million in federal funding for this project,” said the District 52 Representative who is up for re-election, “and I am grateful to everyone who has worked hard to help us get to this moment. “We will continue to work to address wastewater pollution in the Tijuana River Valley using all available avenues and ensure our air, water and land are safe for everyone.”
“We will continue to work to address wastewater pollution in the Tijuana River Valley using all available avenues and ensure that our air, water and land are safe for everyone,” stressed the Representative of District 52, which includes the communities of southern Mexico. the bay.
“For years,” Vargas said, “I have called the cross-border wastewater crisis one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in the Western Hemisphere, but it threatens more than nature: it threatens public health.”
District 51 Representative Sara Jacobs warned that the history of sewage pollution from Tijuana is “longer than I have been alive, but I am very happy,” she said, that we are making greater progress faster. than ever.”
“We must continue
being responsible”
Scott Peters, Representative of District 50, pointed out that we must continue to hold ourselves and Mexico accountable for our commitments to finish this important work; “People count on us.”
For her part, Sara Jacobs, Congresswoman for District 51, “the Tijuana River Valley has been filled with sewage and pollution for longer than I have been alive, but I am very happy that we are making greater and faster progress than ever before.” ”.
“Once this project is completed, the capacity of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant will double,” Representative Jacobs anticipated, “which will help improve our health and safety and keep our businesses and beaches open. “Our San Diego Congressional delegation will continue to push to bring home more federal funding, assistance and oversight to make this project happen.”
It is worth remembering that exactly a month ago today, officials from the three levels of government lifted the first shovel of dirt this afternoon announcing the construction of a “fundamental infrastructure” project for the International Wastewater Treatment Plant of South Bay.
Dr. María Elena Giner during her attendance at the event held last month at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo-File: Horacio Rentería/El Latino San Diego.
According to Dr. María Elena Giner, head of the American Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), the project that began on Monday, September 30) contemplates the rehabilitation, expansion, and Compliance with Junction Box 1 (JB-1) permits.
The federal official accepted that since the latter has not been operational since 2021, the plant has been “impacted,” but the news of the approval of the funds was received with joy by the agencies involved.
It is also worth mentioning that this Monday, October 28, Governor Gavin Newsom, in the company of the governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, visited the sewage treatment facilities on both sides of the border and highlighted that Thanks to the alliance between the governments, more than $453 million has been obtained that would be allocated to improvements at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, (in blue pants, shirt and tennis shoes) was accompanied by the state executive of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda (to his left in a blue vest and white shirt) on the tour that both took the installations in process on both borders. Photo source: California Government Office. Mayor Paloma Aguirre, with a long history as a former environmental activist, has not stopped requesting that progress be made faster than what has been done on the issue because health is involved. of the population and the economic impact that this problem
environmental impact on the affected communities. Photo-Courtesy: Horacio Rentería/El Latino San Diego.
