County Supervisor Chair Nora Vargas and Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer Wednesday continued their push to have the U.S.-Mexico transboundary sewage pollution from the Tijuana River declared a federal emergency, following the closure of several county beaches on the Fourth of July.
They noted July 4th was the 569th consecutive day of beach closures in the region due to sewage runoff flowing into the ocean from Tijuana.
"As we saw this past holiday weekend with some of our beaches closed during Independence Day, the Tijuana River Valley environmental pollution crisis has reached a tipping point and we urgently need the federal government to step in and help us bring clean water to the families and visitors of San Diego County," Vargas said.
"These closures continue to severely impact the life, health, and economic well-being of so many and we need a federal state of emergency if we truly want to address this issue."
Last Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors declared the first state of emergency on Tijuana Sewage and called on the Biden Administration to declare a federal emergency.
Following the vote, San Diego County's Assembly and State Senate delegations wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting the state of California join the emergency declaration, and the region's congressional representatives elevated this request directly to Biden.
"If 35 million gallons of sewage were being spilled on the National Mall in D.C. each day, our government would've taken action long ago," said Lawson-Remer. "Yet here we are, celebrating the 4th of July holiday with many of our region's beaches unsafe to swim in.
"At the current pace, my 4-year-old daughter may be in middle school by the time we've made any real progress," she added. "Our sewage crisis threatens our health, our environment, and our economy. We need a federal emergency declared and action now."
Vargas and Lawson-Remer added signatures of 2,500 county residents to a petition calling on federal action from Biden.
Paloma Aguirre, elected last year to be Imperial Beach's mayor-at- large, said her community cannot wait another 15 years for improvements.
"Imperial Beach has suffered for decades from cross-border pollution, with its beach being closed every day this year. ... The impacts are quite, quite severe," she said.
