U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) Commissioner Chad McIntosh announced that the 10 million-gallon-per-day expansion project to address the Tijuana River sewage crisis has been completed.
Through the expansion, the plant’s treatment capacity increased from 25 million gallons per day to 35 million gallons per day, a 40% increase.
The EPA will continue to work towards its priorities on the issue, including securing Mexico’s financial commitments through 2027, accelerating project timelines, and establishing preventative measures in additional projects.
“The Trump Administration committed to delivering an urgent and permanent 100% solution to the millions of people afflicted by this crisis, and that’s exactly what they’re going to get,” Zeldin said. “Just four months after I personally surveyed the environmental devastation in San Diego, seeing the polluted waterways, closed beaches, and smelling the foul air, we’ve delivered this critical expansion years ahead of schedule. Protecting human health and the environment is our first priority at EPA, and no American should have to worry if the air they breathe or the beaches they visit are safe.”
Vista Mayor John Franklin celebrated that the crisis was addressed in “just 100 days” after “decades of delay and broken promises.”
In July, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to “expedite the timelines of critical infrastructure projects in the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Minute No. 328 (‘Minute 328’),” the EPA explained at the time. Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons of raw sewage have crossed the border, closing beaches, sickening residents, and disrupting Navy SEAL training at Coronado’s Naval Amphibious Base.
