For too long, cross-border sewage pollution in the Tijuana River Valley has harmed public health, our local economies, and our ecosystems. I’ve been fighting to address this issue for years and I won’t let up:

• In March 2024, I worked alongside the San Diego Congressional delegation to secure over $156 million in funding that can be used for critical repairs to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. In 2019, I worked alongside the delegation to secure $300 million to expand the treatment plant. I’ve also joined my San Diego Congressional delegation colleagues in asking the State Department to pursue a comprehensive report into how the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant fell into disrepair.

• In May 2024, I joined my Congressional delegation colleagues in calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to look into the contaminants in the water, soil, and air in our communities and the potential connection to reported increases in illnesses and other symptoms. Thanks to our request, the CDC has agreed to begin an investigation into the public health impacts of the Tijuana River sewage pollution.

• In October 2024, I led my Congressional delegation colleagues in calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide support to the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) as they work to monitor the air quality in communities impacted by Tijuana River Valley pollution. This summer, South Bay communities were overwhelmed by strong sewage odors from the Tijuana River Valley, and hydrogen sulfide was detected in higher-than-normal amounts for short periods of time. Because exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause adverse health effects like headaches and difficulty breathing, it is important that our communities have access to continuous and robust air quality monitoring that will give public health officials the information they need to help keep people safe.
  
  
• In August 2024, I hosted State Department Deputy Secretary Richard Verma, EPA Region Nine Administrator Martha Guzman, and other officials in San Diego to meet with our Congressional delegation about sewage pollution in the Tijuana River and oversee the situation at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. This pollution impacts our communities every day and it was important that the State Department and EPA were able to see the plant and the pollution firsthand. 
  
  
• We need Mexico to do its part to address pollution. I have continued to press Mexican officials on this issue and I won’t let up. In July 2024, I joined a Congressional Delegation trip to Mexico to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum. I stressed the need for Mexico to fulfill its obligations and continue to invest in infrastructure to reduce pollution. 
  
  
• I’ve also worked closely with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs as well as Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States to reduce pollution. In January 2024, these efforts culminated in Mexico breaking ground on a replacement for the San Antonio de los Buenos wastewater treatment plant - an over $143 million investment and a crucial step in efforts to clean up the Tijuana River. I have visited the site to check in on construction and will continue to closely monitor progress.
  
  
• In 2023, I led my Congressional delegation colleagues in calling on the President to declare a federal state of emergency over this pollution in order to unlock more federal funding and assistance for our communities.
  
  
• I am leading the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act. This bill would help address pollution by designating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the lead agency. Under the bill, the EPA would be required to coordinate all federal, state, and local agencies to plan and construct infrastructure projects to combat pollution along the border, streamlining decision-making and strategic planning between agencies.
  
  
• I worked alongside the San Diego Congressional delegation to successfully pass legislation to clear the path for the International Boundary and Water Commission to use federal funding to address pollution in the Tijuana River Valley.
  
  
• In 2017, I introduced the bipartisan Tijuana River Valley Comprehensive Protection and Rehabilitation Act. This legislation would help rehabilitate and protect the Tijuana River Valley, and reduce sewage. The legislation would develop a coordinated program—including federal, state, local and Mexican agencies and departments—to provide technical assistance for the conservation, stewardship, and enhancement of physical infrastructure in both the U.S. and Mexico to prevent flooding and wastewater, sewage, trash and sediment spills in the Tijuana River Valley.
  
  
• In 2015, provisions inspired by my legislation were included in Minute 320 – an updated provision of a treaty between the United States and Mexico. This provision helped create a framework for binational cooperation to address the sewage pollution. This provision also laid the foundation for a later, 2022 provision – Minute 328 – that built on these efforts by identifying a list of projects both countries agreed upon to address the sewage and expand treatment facilities.
  
  
• Since 2013, I’ve led an annual appropriations letter requesting robust funding for the U.S.–Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program. This advocacy has led to securing hundreds of millions in funding for the entire border and for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

Our work is far from over. I’ll keep fighting for the health of our communities and waterways. Read more about my work on this issue: