The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the United States and Mexico reached an agreement to combat the sewage crisis along the Tijuana River.
The sewage crisis has posed health threats to those in San Diego.
“The Trump Administration is proud to deliver this massive environmental and national security win for Americans in the San Diego area who have been living with this disgusting raw sewage flowing into their communities for far too long,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. He added that the new agreement is a “huge win for millions of Americans and Mexicans who have been calling on us to end this decades old crisis.”
According to the agreement, the two nations will “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. This includes Mexico completing its projects by the end of 2027. The United States has agreed to release EPA Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP) funding to “complete the rehabilitation of Pump Station 1 and the Tijuana River collection pipes.” Mexico will then seek funding to begin construction to divert 10 million gallons per day of “treated effluent entering the Tijuana River, and the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line.”
“To accomplish the permanent, long-term, and durable 100% solution to this crisis, Mexico has agreed to enter into a new Minute with the United States no later than December 31, 2025,” the EPA added. “This new Minute will contain, at minimum, one dozen new actions that the United States deemed necessary to permanently end this crisis.”
National Resources of Mexico Alicia Bárcena Ibarra celebrated the agreement, saying the memorandum “strengthens collaboration to address environmental and health challenges along the northern border.”
