FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
SAN DIEGO – Today, the San Diego City Council approved a continued State of Emergency Resolution due to the environmental disaster still occurring within the Tijuana River Valley.
The original State of Emergency resolution was first passed in 1993 and the crisis has steadily worsened. In 2019, the Council updated the state of emergency resolution, recognizing the severe environmental disaster caused by the transboundary flows of sewage, solid waste, and toxic sediment in the Tijuana River Valley for several decades.
In 2019, as one of her first actions as the District 8 Councilmember, Moreno urged the San Diego City Council to join a State of California lawsuit against the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) for their failure to uphold the Clean Water Act with respect to the transboundary flows of pollution. This lawsuit was in collaboration with the California State Lands Commission, the City of Chula Vista, the City of Imperial Beach, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Unified Port of San Diego, and the Surfrider Foundation. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dedicated $300 million, appropriated by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, directly towards improving the conditions in the Tijuana River Valley.
District Eight residents frequently experience a foul smell, and people who have been exposed to the toxic waste have reported skin rashes, headaches and respiratory issues. “As a nearby resident of the Tijuana River Valley, I share the frustration and health concerns raised when the contamination flows run rampant,” said Councilmember Moreno. “The wastewater pollution issue has been impacting this unique wetland habitat and our communities for far too long, and it is not something we as a City can solve by ourselves. Solving this issue requires investment and action from every level of government on both sides of the border.”
The City spends between $2-$8M annually to remediate the solid waste and sediment.
