Imperial Beach leaders want the federal government to take stronger action in the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis by accelerating its construction projects and pressuring Mexico with punitive action, if necessary.
That pressure could include limiting border crossings and sales of potable water to Tijuana during county-declared public health threats.
The Imperial Beach City Council passed a resolution suggesting ways to hasten a solution in the decades-long problem. In light of this move, Coronado will consider updating its own resolution on the matter.
This does not necessarily mean that Coronado will adopt the same resolution or language. However, the Coronado City Council agreed at its May 6 meeting that it should adopt a resolution with more robust language and potential action items.
Imperial Beach’s resolution asks Congress to expedite the rehabilitation and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP), a $600 million project overseen by the US International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC).
It also suggests the federal government take punitive action against Mexico, if necessary. It notes that 90 percent of Tijuana’s imported water comes from the Colorado River, underscoring the city’s dependence on its 1944 United States-Mexico Water Treaty, and says Mexico has shown “persistent noncompliance” in the treaty terms, causing the ongoing wastewater pollution. The treaty states that each country will give preferential attention to border sanitation issues.
Therefore, Imperial Beach’s resolution asks that Congress consider regulating or restricting the export of potable water into Tijuana during any health-related threats declared by San Diego County. This could include, the resolution says, limiting border crossing activity at US ports of entry during declared health threats.
It also calls for the acceleration of a Tijuana River diversion project and opposes the construction of a 50 million gallons per day (MGD) desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito in Baja California unless Mexico commits to water recycling projects it has already agreed to and demonstrates it can handle the wastewater generated from new potable water sources.
Coronado will consider amending its own resolution of urgency at a future meeting. The Coronado City Council voted unanimously to place the matter on a future agenda for discussion after Mayor John Duncan asked council members whether they would be amenable to doing so.
Imperial Beach City Councilmember Mitch McKay attended Tuesday’s meeting and invited Coronado to adopt a similar resolution to the one his council passed.
“The resolution, which we did pass in a four-to-one vote recently, has both action items that we as local communities can take, and items that we can focus on,” McKay said. “It also provides — I don’t want to say guidance — but some ideas and some recommendations for the at the federal level, at the state level, and even the regional level.”
Notably, Imperial Beach mayor Paloma Aguirre voted against the resolution. Aguirre has been a vocal advocate for addressing the millions of gallons of untreated sewage that Tijuana pushes in to the ocean each day, causing beach closures and health concerns.
McKay said she took issue with the language around border crossing, a sentiment that Coronado City Councilmember Carrie Downey echoed. Downey also questioned whether city council members were qualified to tell the federal government how to solve its problems.
“It’s not just Mexican nationals coming across that pedestrian border,” Downey said. “It’s US citizens that live there because they can’t afford to live here, and then take that pedestrian path to come here.”
Councilmember Mark Fleming said he thinks pressuring Mexico is appropriate.
“I’m in full support of us creating a resolution similar to what city of Imperial Beach has done,” Fleming said. “One thing that strikes me is, I feel like our country — meaning our federal government — has been far, far too passive in dealing with Mexico on this.”
Coronado has adopted both a resolution of urgency and a declaration of emergency regarding the millions of gallons of untreated wastewater from Tijuana that are dumped into the Pacific Ocean daily.
The difference: A state of emergency is a legal mechanism that is usually used by governing bodies to request funding or circumvent certain procedural rules in addressing a crisis situation. After the January 2024 storm that caused flooding in Coronado, the city declared a local emergency, which allowed it to repair a pump station much more quickly than it usually could, as an example.
A past council declined to declare an emergency because Coronado does not oversee the failing infrastructure that causes the problem. Because it cannot request funding or procedural leniency, a declaration of emergency is symbolic, the council at the time decided.
However, the current council voted early this year to declare a local emergency, saying that symbolism matters, that an emergency declaration might help with ongoing advocacy efforts, and that it was important to show solidarity with nearby governing bodies who have declared their own local emergencies.
The resolution of urgency is what the council will consider updating at a future meeting.
Other council members agreed that revisiting the resolution was appropriate. Councilmember Kelly Purvis noted that she did not see reference to the US Navy SEALs in Imperial Beach’s resolution, and asked that they be included in potential items for Coronado’s updated one. The SEALs train on Coronado’s beaches, and a Department of Defense report found that the water was unsafe 75 percent of the time last year. The DOD recommends that trainings be moved.
Councilmember Amy Steward also applauded the thorough context that Imperial Beach included in its resolution, which she said illustrates the problem well.
“I read this resolution and was very impressed, because our resolution, while good, doesn’t really cover all that’s happened,” said Steward, adding that Coronado should stand with its neighbor, Imperial Beach.
Duncan stressed the importance of resolutions such as these. A chief question surrounding Coronado’s declarations of urgency and emergency has been whether such moves actually sway regional, state, and federal leaders.
“I believe these resolutions have a real effect,” Duncan said. “When you see what goes on at other agencies, whether it be at SANDAG (the San Diego Association of Governments) or whether it be people from the federal government calling us to talk about it. . . . I do think the emphasis to get something done is building.”
Duncan referenced EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s recent visit to San Diego as part of that building momentum.
City staff will compile options for a potentially more robust resolution and return it to city council for discussion.
The entire resolution from Imperial Beach can be read here. Its action points are summarized below.
- Authorizing Imperial Beach city staff and council members to work with local, state, federal, and Mexican authorities to explore options to solve the problem
- Urging Congress to consider legislation that would strengthen the “enforcement of international water and environmental treaty obligations that will hold Mexico accountable for failing to control transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River”
- Requesting that the IBWC accelerate design and construction of a Tijuana River diversion project
- Encouraging the federal government to allocate $200 million in US Army Corps of Engineer funds and up to $50 million of California Climate Bond funds to “accelerate the implementation of the Tijuana River Diversion project and the clean-up and restoration of the flood control channel”
- Opposing the construction of a 50 MGD desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito unless the country commits to water recycling projects it has already agreed to and demonstrates it can handle the wastewater generated from new potable water sources
- Supporting the Otay Mesa East Toll Facility Act, which would dedicate toll revenues to addressing the pollution in and restoring the Tijuana River Valley “and not used to offset federal government obligations for wastewater treatment at the International Treatment Plant”
- Directing SANDAG to consider the Mexican share of toll revenues as a potential funding source to “offset the detrimental impacts of the transportation, trade and population nexus being created at Otay Mesa East Port of Entry”
- Requesting that Congress consider passing statutory enforcement requirements to:
- Allow the federal government to regulate or restrict the export of potable water into Tijuana during any health-related threats declared by San Diego County, including limiting crossing activity at US ports of entry during declared health threats
- Authorize the temporary diversion or restriction of the Tijuana River and its tributaries, including the river’s mouth in Imperial Beach
- Requesting that President Donald Trump consider an executive order “requiring such near-term actions with enforcement, as necessary, by all Federal entities and departments, including but not limited to the: Department of State, EPA, and the Department of the Navy”
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