Board approves county roadmap to respond to Tijuana River sewage crisis; Desmond votes no

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to advance regional actions addressing the Tijuana River sewage crisis, directing the chief administrative officer to evaluate programmatic options and return to the board with strategic recommendations. Vice Chair Terra Lawson‑Remer brought the item forward and the motion passed on a 4–1 vote, with Supervisor Jim Desmond voting no; no county funds were committed at the meeting.

The board letter framed the sewage situation as a public‑health emergency affecting South Bay communities, citing beach closures, illnesses among children and the $650 million Congress has approved to upgrade the International Treatment Plant. Vice Chair Terra Lawson‑Remer said the item is intended to “position us to act quickly when resources become available” by creating a county road map for short‑ and longer‑term responses.

The roadmap in the board letter asks county staff to evaluate — and report back with recommended priorities for — a set of actions including: a long‑term epidemiological health study focusing on hydrogen sulfide exposure; matching funds for school filtration and HVAC upgrades; targeted infrastructure fixes at toxic hot spots such as the Saturn Boulevard area in Imperial Beach; a regional economic‑impact analysis; and the creation of a county sewage‑crisis coordinator position and an ad hoc board subcommittee for oversight. The item explicitly states it does not commit county funds and is intended to prepare the county to deploy resources when external funding or grants become available.

Public comment on the item was extensive. The board clerk said there were 13 requests to speak in person or by phone and nine emailed comments — eight in support and one in opposition. Charles Rille, speaking for the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club, told the board the organization supports a coordinated county response and “applaud[s]” the idea of a county sewage crisis chief and the public‑health and economic studies. Bethany Case, an Imperial Beach resident and program manager with Clean Border Water Now, described the Tijuana River as “the second most endangered river in the U.S.” in a July 2025 American Rivers ranking and detailed personal and family health concerns from living near the Saturn Boulevard hotspot.

Several other speakers asked the county to focus on binational pressure and accountability. Caller Paul Bogue and others urged stronger action to make Mexico responsible for cross‑border sewage flows, while Supervisor Jim Desmond, during board discussion, argued the county’s proposed measures are “band aids” that do not address the root cause and urged the board to direct staff “to pursue all efforts and all levels of government to prevent Mexico from polluting our county and country via the Tijuana River.” Desmond offered a proposed amendment along those lines; the final roll call shows he cast the lone no vote on the overall item.

Board members debated program details and constraints. Supervisors and staff discussed air filter effectiveness and agreed to require a scientific assessment of filtration products before any matching‑fund program for schools and childcare centers proceeds. The motion includes direction that staff prioritize county actions that can be leveraged to attract outside funding and avoid diverting general‑purpose revenue absent further board action.

Next steps in the item ask the chief administrative officer to evaluate program options and return with strategic recommendations the board can act on. The board did not adopt any appropriation or hire staff at this meeting. The item establishes policy direction and a workplan for staff so the county can move quickly if external funds or federal actions — including those from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Congress — become available.

Board action and public comment underscore the political and operational tensions in addressing the crisis: many residents and environmental groups urged more rapid and coordinated mitigation, while some board members and callers pressed for stronger binational enforcement or fewer study‑oriented steps. The board’s approval sets the county on a path to develop its options and reporting timelines before any funding decisions are made.