On May 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) promised to increase the capacity of a wastewater treatment plant at the border in 100 days instead of two years.
On Wednesday, federal officials announced they had met the deadline.
“Just four months after I personally surveyed the environmental devastation in San Diego, seeing the polluted waterways, closed beaches, and smelling the foul air, we've delivered this critical expansion years ahead of schedule,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. “Protecting human health and the environment is our first priority at EPA, and no American should have to worry if the air they breathe or the beaches they visit are safe.”
The expansion means the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant will be able to treat 10 million gallons more per day of wastewater from Tijuana, or a total of 35 million gallons.
For communities on both sides of the border, greater treatment capacity means less untreated sewage in the Tijuana River during the dry season. Those polluted flows are responsible for noxious odors and sewage-related bacteria in the ocean that have led to beach closures in Tijuana and as far north as Coronado for years.
Former IBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner said the larger plan is to expand the South Bay plant’s capacity to 50 million gallons per day.
But 35 million gallons for now, “will be really useful because while they’re building the full plant, which is several years out, that will allow for communities not having to wait that long (for relief),” she said.
Plant engineer Ramon Macias said the increase in wastewater treatment to 35 million gallons is expected to begin in the coming weeks. He told members of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board on Tuesday that the agency needs to test the expansion and make sure “that we’re not impacting our plant as we’re receiving this additional flow.”
According to the federal agency, plans include using extra chemicals to treat the additional gallons in the plant’s primary tanks, where solids are removed. The remaining gallons will go to a secondary tank, where flows receive biological treatment by microorganisms. All 35 million gallons will then be blended before being released into the Pacific Ocean.
Treating more than 25 million gallons per day breaches the IBWC’s permit with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Board members on Wednesday, however, approved a cease and desist order that allows the IBWC to treat an additional 10 million gallons before releasing it into the ocean. The board enforces water quality laws to ensure the IBWC meets specific discharge limits for pollutants.
If the IBWC fails to comply with any provision of the order, the board said it may take further action, including referring violations to the attorney general.
