The Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) joined South Bay residents in a lawsuit against the operators of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant on Monday, claiming untreated sewage discharge is sickening students and school staff. Veolia, the company that’s been running the sewage treatment plant since 2011, is “negligent” and “reckless” for repeatedly exposing community members to harmful, cancer-causing chemicals, according to the 29-page complaint.
“[The Coronado Unified School District] has a significant number of students falling ill on a daily basis,” said James P. Frantz of Frantz Law Group, the firm that is spearheading the lawsuit. “They are at the nurses office, and they are sick at home, and it’s all because of the sewage crisis. Veolia isn’t doing its job.”
The complaint alleges that, since 2018, Veolia has failed to prevent more than 500 illegal sewage discharge incidents. This has resulted in more than one billion gallons of raw sewage being dumped into the Tijuana River, which ultimately flows into South San Diego.
The sewage is directly affecting CUSD students, according to Frantz. The noxious fumes and odors have prevented them from playing outside at recess. In addition, they’ve suffered from respiratory and asthmatic problems.
“Don’t forget that the chemicals that are being released in this sewage, and not being controlled every day, are cancer-causing chemicals,” said Frantz. “They can also cause leukemia. Any exposure to these chemicals is very dangerous, especially for children. It’s unconscionable that’s happening here.”
According to the complaint, the contaminants in the sewage include Hydrogen Sulfide, DDTs, Benzidine, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls. They are known to cause headaches, nausea, respiratory issues, gastrointestinal upset, tremors and fatigue.
“It’s just despicable behavior,” said Frantz. “It’s a conscious disregard of the safety of all of the inhabitants of South Bay, Imperial Beach, and surrounding communities, including the Coronado Unified School District and the students in those schools.”
According to Coronado High School student Danny Vinegrad who heads up the school’s Stop the Sewage Club, the impact of the sewage is profound. He says that students can smell the stench from their homes and it affects their ability to work.
“Students who work as lifeguards are exposed to toxic water,” said Vinegrad. “Also, many students are unable to practice and engage in their favorite sports due to the beach closures.”
He says he’s grateful that CUSD has filed the lawsuit and is working to protect and support their students. He believes the litigation is a step forward in solving the sewage crisis which has plagued the community for years.
But a representative from Veolia said that the plaintiffs in this case would be better served if their lawyers pursued the source of the problem…instead of going to the company to try to solve it.
“The untreated sewage plaguing San Diego comes directly from Mexico through the Pacific Ocean and the Tijuana River, not the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant,” said Adam Lisberg, Senior Vice President of External Communications of Veolia. “The claims in this lawsuit are misplaced, and Veolia’s hardworking local employees do not deserve to be blamed for the Mexican government’s failures.”
According to an email from Lisberg, Veolia operates the South Bay plant on behalf of its owner, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC.) It’s the single largest facility protecting San Diego, treating up to 25 million gallons of Tijuana’s sewage each day.
San Diego has been inundated with about 100 billion gallons of raw sewage, industrial waste and urban runoff for the last five years as a result of Tijuana’s insufficient wastewater infrastructure, according to Lisberg.
But Frantz says that Veolia shouldn’t have taken on the assignment if it couldn’t clean up the sewage properly. He said Veolia has been paid tens of millions of dollars by the federal government, and the time for excuses is over.
“Mexico isn’t the only bad actor here. Veolia is another bad actor,” said Frantz. “This started in 2011. It’s 2025. How long does it take to figure it out? Get your engineers on board, redesign your equipment so its works correctly and expand it as you need to.”
More than 500 plaintiffs have joined the mass tort lawsuit since it was first introduced in November of 2024, and Frantz expects more to join in. While it’s one big case, each plaintiff will be filing a separate lawsuit, as everyone has an individual claim and their own set of damages, whether that’s illness, health problems or loss of property values.
William B. Shinoff, another attorney with the firm, said he expects other South Bay school districts to consider joining in the lawsuit. He said CUSD filed the lawsuit because it wanted to put the safety of its students, staff and community front and center.
“We applaud the district for being the first ones in the community to take this stance, and we hope that other districts will go and follow the lead of Coronado Unified School District,” said Shinoff.
Laura Sinton, a Coronado Cays resident who heads up StoptheSewage.org, has been working with other South Bay residents to solve the sewage crisis since 2022. She’s happy CUSD has joined the lawsuit and says the district is showing the students they care about more than just their education: they care about their health and well-being.
“The trustees are showing true leadership here, in their mission of educating and protecting children,” said Sinton. “The fact that they are taking this step to join the plaintiff class to join South Bay and, specifically, the children in their charge, is really heartening to me and all of us at Stop the Sewage.”
Sinton says that it’s up to residents to do every thing they can to get the sewage crisis solved. Even then, it’s going to take some time.
“We are pulling every lever we can,” said Sinton. “We don’t know which lever is going to be the one that will make it happen, but we are pulling them all.”
Vinegrad says since he learned about the lawsuit, he’s feeling more optimistic.
“Since I founded the club, we have worked on educating students and the community on the importance of the Tijuana River sewage crisis,” he said. “To see steps being taken to combat the issue gives me hope to see the reopening of our beaches.”
Congress recently allocated $600 million to repair and expand the South Bay plant, which will double its capacity to treat 50 million gallons of wastewater a day, according to Veolia.
But Frantz says the time for excuses is over and action is needed now.
“This has got to stop,” said Frantz. “Veolia make claims that, oh, Mexico is the problem. The federal government is the problem. Well, let’s quit finger-pointing and do your job.”
The Stop the Sewage Club is planing a community forum on the ongoing sewage crisis on April 23. Guests will include researchers, experts and elected officials. Stay tuned for more information.
