The Trump administration has reached an agreement with Mexico aimed at resolving the long-standing Tijuana River sewage crisis. Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, described this as a “significant environmental and national security achievement.”
Zeldin met with his Mexican counterpart, Alicia Barcena, on Thursday in Mexico City. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was established, focusing on halting the flow of untreated sewage impacting Southern California.
The sewage crisis in Tijuana has resulted in health issues for many Americans, leading to repeated beach closures in San Diego. Mismanagement only worsened the situation, as reported by Breitbart News.
According to a source, San Diego coastal managers note the problem stems from outdated infrastructure, poor maintenance, and various natural factors.
As environmental lawyer Philip Mujas explained in May 2024, “The heart of the issue is that sewage treatment plants can’t handle the wastewater generated by Tijuana’s rapid population growth and the expansion of surrounding cities.”
Regardless of the reasons behind the wastewater management issues in Mexico, the Associated Press reported that since 2018, nearly 100 billion gallons of raw sewage, along with industrial waste, has flowed into the Tijuana River and into San Diego County.
In April, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond (R) disclosed that U.S. Navy SEALs had to be “transported” from Coronado just to access clean water due to the millions of gallons of sewage being dumped daily.
In response to the crisis in 2022, the U.S. and Mexico signed a treaty known as “Minute 328.” The agreement allocated $144 million from Mexico and $350 million from the U.S. to improve sewage management.
Zeldin announced on Thursday that, although Mexico had not yet allocated $93 million in funds, the new MOU would change that. “Mexico will begin mandating the remaining $93 million that has yet to be accessed,” he stated, as per a press release.
The deadline for the Minute 328 project has now been extended, incorporating additional side projects from Mexico to consider Tijuana’s future population growth and ongoing maintenance expenses.
The project is required to be finished by December 31, 2027.
“The Trump administration is pleased with this major environmental and national security achievement for the San Diego region. This issue of raw sewage has plagued the community for far too long,” Zeldin expressed in a statement.
The MOU follows a prior meeting in April between Zeldin and Barcena, where they toured the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant on the U.S.-Mexico border. They concluded that the problem needs to be handled with “extreme urgency.”
Zeldin also expressed gratitude to Barcena and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for their collaboration on social media engagements.
