South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant at normal capacity. (Photo courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency)
Two San Diego County supervisors on Wednesday praised a decision to expand treatment capacity at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In a statement, Paloma Aguirre and Joel Anderson said a cease-and-desist order will allow the plant to treat an additional 10 million gallons per day, from 25 million gallons to 35 million gallons.
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted the order during its regular meeting Wednesday.
Aguirre and Anderson described that decision as “a major step toward reducing untreated sewage flows through the Tijuana River Valley.”
“South Bay families have been forced to live with toxic pollution for years now,” Aguirre and Anderson said. “This cease-and-desist order is an urgently needed step to protect public health and finally bring some relief to South Bay residents.”
The supervisors said allowing more treatment capacity at the plant, which the International Boundary and Water Commission operates, was “an important step forward.”
Since 2018, over 200 billion gallons of toxic sewage, trash and unmanaged stormwater have flowed across the United States-Mexico border into the Tijuana River Valley and neighboring communities.
Last month, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin met with the Mexican government’s environmental head to sign an agreement to help stem the flow of sewage into the Tijuana River.
The county’s Congressional delegation also has worked over the years to secure federal funding in response to the pollution crisis.
Both supervisors sent letters to the control board requesting increased treatment capacity at the plant.
Anderson, who represents District 2, said he was “pleased to have worked closely with Supervisor Aguirre on this important issue to our county and our region.”
In a related manner, Anderson and Aguirre have also called “for urgent action” at a “hotspot” on Saturn Boulevard, which is located near the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park.
They asked the Water Quality Control Board to coordinate with the county “to expedite a major maintenance project at this critical location, where hydrogen sulfide and other toxic gases continue to threaten community health.”
“The water board should work hand-in-hand with the county to cut red tape and deliver these protections as quickly as possible,” said Aguirre, who was recently elected to represent District 1, which includes the South Bay.
In other county news, the full Board of Supervisors approved a long-term plan to make behavioral health services a separate department from the Health and Human Services Agency.
On Tuesday, supervisors voted 3-2 to approve forming a new subcommittee, based on a proposal from Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe.
According to the two supervisors, the “Subcommittee on Social Safety Net and Behavioral Health Systems Transformation” will focus on starting a multi-year process of elevating behavioral health into a standalone department with its own governance, resources and staffing.
Aguirre joined Lawson-Remer and Montgomery Steppe in voting for the proposal, while Anderson and Jim Desmond were opposed.