Environmentalists hope the newly signed California budget helps them get trash out of the Tijuana River Valley.
Rainfall has pushed tons of garbage into the sensitive habitat, and getting that trash out of the valley is tough. Large earth-moving equipment won’t work because this is sensitive habitat. Tijuana sits above the valley and a lot of waste washes down the gullies.
“As that water comes into the United States it comes with excess sediment and all sorts of trash," said Chris Peregrin, the refuge manager. "And the facility captures it before it enters the sensitive habitat.”
In a statement, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she believes the budget will mean "significant progress in our goal of more efficiently and cost-effectively mitigating tires and solid waste which pollute the Tijuana River Valley."
Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said a successful clean up effort will attack the problem from a number of different areas. The new state budget includes language that allow California to spend money on prevention efforts in Mexico.
“The first thing, obviously, is to clean up and help restore the Tijuana River Valley," Dedina said. "The second is to make sure we clean up all the existing tires in the watershed and the culverts in Tijuana so they don’t wash across the border."
