The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted this week to seek a $1.4 million pollution study of the Tijuana River Valley, which county officials hope will convince the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to declare the area a Superfund site.
The request is the county's latest effort to seek federal help to address longstanding sewage contamination in south San Diego County after the EPA denied a request to investigate the Tijuana River Valley earlier this year. The EPA said in a letter at the time that the contaminants found in the region did not exceed levels that endanger human health, while county leaders said the EPA was relying on outdated data and did not visit the site in person.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted to ask the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board to fund a two-year study of soil and water at 11 sites from Los Peñasquitos Lagoon to Famosa Slough.
Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said in a statement, "This study is an important step in identifying hard evidence required by the Environmental Protection Agency to act and move toward a Superfund designation. This work is all in an effort toward ensuring that residents are no longer left to live, work, and raise families in the shadow of one of America's most contaminated waterways."
County leaders said they are also exploring an epidemiological health study regarding the potential long-term impacts of exposure to hydrogen sulfide and a separate study on gas concentrations near the Saturn Boulevard river crossing.
The county's Office of Economic Development and Government Affairs is also looking into an economic study examining pollution impacts on businesses, property values, and tourism.
