San Diego leaders are calling for a renewed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to include solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
Their demand comes in response to President Trump’s refusal earlier this month to renew the trade deal. At a news conference Thursday in Otay Mesa, officials said the president’s decision has created an opportunity for the U.S. to strengthen the agreement.
“No more loopholes, no vague commitments, no more deferring responsibility while communities suffer,” said San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre.
Her District 1 constituents, who live near the polluted Tijuana River, have experienced symptoms like headaches, nausea, chronic coughs and gastrointestinal issues, and have lost beach access for years due to sewage pipelines failing in Mexico.
Alongside San Diego Assemblymember David Alvarez and environmental advocates, Aguirre said the trade deal needs enforceable penalties when pollution crosses the border.
“We need enforcement because yes, we need to push for watershed-based solutions that are upstream at the source, but we cannot depend on an entirely different nation for our public health protection here,” she said.
The Trump administration already has an agreement with Mexico that promises to end the decades-long, cross-border pollution.
Adopted last year, Minute 333 lays out new wastewater infrastructure and maintenance projects that each country must take on by certain deadlines.
Late last month, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s continued “relentless pace in ensuring that Mexico meets its funding commitments, that projects are being built on the tightest possible timelines, and that actions are being taken to plan for future population growth in the region.”
But San Diego Assemblymember David Alvarez said those plans need the enforcement and commitment that come with signing a trade deal.
“Even with what’s in the minutes … it’s not necessarily full protection from the environmental damages that are caused by the sewage spills,” he said. “As Tijuana continues to grow, as you see growth in the region, just generally, those (sewage) flows can become larger over the course of time, and therefore the current solution doesn't become a real solution. It becomes a temporary solution.”
Officials said the trade deal must, specifically, have a system to quickly investigate environmental violations. One way could be through the creation of an environment committee that would monitor emerging concerns, including pollution by maquiladoras in Tijuana. They also ask that penalties, such as fines, be issued whenever infrastructure fails.
They are also asking both governments to commit to building and funding a river diversion project, which would divert polluted flows away from the Tijuana River and into treatment facilities.
Come next month, Alvarez said he will propose that the state legislature make the same demands to Congress by way of a state resolution. Congress members representing San Diego County seem to be on board.
In December, Congress members Scott Peters, Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs and Mike Levin, as well as U.S. senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, wrote a letter to Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer. They urged him to “pursue further investments and cross-border cooperation” to curb pollution during his review of the trade deal.
Specifically, they requested, among other things, to ensure there are permanent funding sources from both countries so that fixes and maintenance aren’t reliant on congressional appropriations and, in Mexico, solely reliant on ratepayer funds.
“Continued investment and coordination with the Mexican government remain imperative to ensure long-term solutions to this public health emergency in the San Diego-Tijuana region,” they said in their letter.
U.S. and Mexican officials are slated to continue negotiations next week in Mexico City.
