Submitted by Miguel Ochoa
On February 13, 2025, I attended the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) San Diego Citizens Forum Public Meeting in San Ysidro, expecting real solutions to the decades-long Tijuana sewage crisis. Instead, I witnessed another cycle of bureaucratic excuses and mismanagement, while our communities remain in crisis.
$883 Million Spent, Yet No Tangible Results
Despite nearly $883 million in federal funding since 2022, the crisis has only worsened:
- In just 480 days, over 41.1 billion gallons of raw sewage have crossed into U.S. waters.
- If the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) had been fully operational, it could have treated only 12 billion gallons, leaving 29.1 billion gallons of untreated sewage contaminating our waters.
- Public health warnings, beach closures, and environmental hazards have increased, not decreased.
We Need Results, Not Excuses – Set Benchmarks, Meet Deadlines
The IBWC and federal officials must be held accountable to clear benchmarks and deadlines to ensure this crisis ends. We demand:
- By March 31, 2025: A publicly accessible spending breakdown detailing how the $883 million has been allocated.
- By June 30, 2025: Completion of Phase 1 of SBIWTP expansion, increasing treatment capacity by at least 15 million gallons per day (MGD).
- By September 30, 2025: Implementation of temporary emergency measures (e.g., diversion barriers, pumping stations) to reduce sewage flow by at least 40%.
- By January 1, 2026: Full completion of SBIWTP upgrades to 50 MGD capacity, as promised in previous agreements.
Federal Action is Needed NOW
If the federal government can issue executive orders for border security, it has the authority to protect American citizens from this environmental disaster. We demand:
- Declare the Tijuana sewage crisis a national emergency.
- Appoint community representatives from District 8, Imperial Beach, and Coronado to a federal task forcewith decision-making power over sewage mitigation projects.
- Direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assume responsibility for immediate mitigation efforts.
- Establish a public accountability committee to track and report every federal dollar spent on wastewater infrastructure.
- Issue an Executive Order mandating the completion of all wastewater projects no later than 2026.
No More Delays – San Diego Deserves Action
For 26 years, our communities have endured toxic beaches, environmental hazards, and empty government promises. We refuse to wait any longer. No more delays. No more excuses. We need results NOW.
Miguel Ochoa – The TJ Kid “In Service to Our Communities”
Community Advocate for District 8 & South Bay
“Fighting for clean water. Fighting for our communities. Fighting for you.”
Ignoring the truth won’t make it smell any better. Start writing to your representatives. Tell your assigned FBI agent and NSA surveyor.
Ah, another well-documented case of government mismanagement dressed up as civic engagement—the IBWC’s sewage circus, where the only thing flowing faster than raw effluent is bureaucratic hot air. Miguel Ochoa, the so-called TJ Kid, has put forth a righteous, fact-laden indictment of this swamp (literal and metaphorical), and I’m inclined to agree. Not because I expect the IBWC, or any federally funded apparatus, to do anything but stall, obfuscate, and shuffle paper until the next election cycle—but because history tells us they won’t do a damn thing unless forced.
Nearly 41.1 billion gallons of raw sewage slithering into U.S. waters? For that price, they could have turned San Diego into Venice—but no, instead, we get beachfront biohazards and a taxpayer tab that reads like a Pentagon procurement invoice. Almost $883 million allocated since 2022, and what do we have to show for it? A treatment plant that, at best, could have handled just 12 billion gallons, leaving another 29.1 billion gallons to marinate in the Pacific. That’s not a sewage crisis—it’s a case study in institutional negligence.
Ochoa’s demands are measured, reasonable, and frankly, an embarrassment to those in power who should have implemented them years ago. Benchmarks? Deadlines? Public accountability? Good luck. Washington works on the geologic time scale, and the only thing they expedite is their own reelection campaigns. That said, these demands—public spending breakdowns, infrastructure upgrades, and an emergency response—are not just necessary, they’re the bare minimum.
The federal government has no problem issuing executive orders when it suits their political interests. National security? Check. Border walls? Check. But when it comes to actual national security threats—like a cross-border environmental disaster bordering on biological warfare, as it specifically targets SEALs in training, poisoning American citizens—suddenly the bureaucracy develops a limp. If sewage were an arms deal, it would have been signed, sealed, and delivered already. Just ask GrecoAir.
So yes, I stand with the TJ Kid. Declare it a national emergency. Put District 8, Imperial Beach, and Coronado representatives at the table. Give the Army Corps of Engineers the reins before another billion vanishes into a black hole of studies and “public input” meetings. Let’s see receipts for that $883 million, and let’s set deadlines with actual consequences.
Otherwise, in another 26 years, and our kids will be be sitting in another IBWC meeting, listening to the same hollow reassurances—only this time, they’ll be wearing hazmat suits.