U.S. congressional representatives from Southern California on Monday called for a federal emergency declaration in hopes of bringing emergency relief to areas plagued by toxic cross-border air pollution.
Democratic Reps. Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Scott Peters called for urgent action “in light of new findings indicating dangerous levels of toxic gases are being discharged from the Tijuana River.”letterIt was sent to President Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday.
“Recent data makes clear that these smoke pose an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of South San Diego residents, and our community needs more help,” the lawmakers wrote.
The representatives were referring to an unrelenting crisis affecting the city of Imperial Beach and its neighbors, which have long been a recipient of cross-border wastewater laced with chemicals and pathogens, an uncontrolled flow resulting from inadequate treatment in Mexico that finds its way into California via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River basin.
Not only has the flow caused widespread water pollution and long-term beach closures, it also poses an airborne public health threat. Researchers studying such effects said last week:Abandoning a jobThe San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas are “worryingly high.”
In a letter Sunday, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and other signatories — local politicians, citizens, medical experts, academics and environmental activists — called on local and state agencies to distribute KN-95 masks and air purifiers to all affected communities.
Lawmakers similarly stressed the need for air purifiers and testing equipment, describing the situation as an ongoing environmental disaster “that requires the same urgency and immediate response as any other natural or environmental disaster.”
“If left unaddressed, a contamination crisis of this magnitude will continue to put our communities at risk,” they added.
