San Diego council urges national emergency, full EPA funding for Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis

The City Council voted unanimously to ask the federal government to declare a national emergency for the Tijuana River Valley and to fully fund the Environmental Protection Agency's comprehensive infrastructure solution for the cross-border sewage crisis.

Councilmember Vivian Moreno, who sponsored the measure, reviewed decades of actions and litigation and urged urgent federal commitment. "We need action from our federal government," Moreno said, recounting a $300 million settlement for upgrades to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and noting roughly $100 million set aside in federal budget items to date. Staff and community testimony described ongoing raw sewage flows, recurring beach closures, widespread resident complaints of hydrogen sulfide odors and health impacts, and ecological damage in the estuary and coastal waters.

City staff and community groups provided findings: the federal South Bay plant currently treats only about 25 million gallons per day, upgrades to double capacity were estimated at roughly $600 million for expansion alone, and total infrastructure needs were presented as exceeding $1 billion. Residents and environmental groups urged the council to press the president and Congress for accelerated and complete funding for the EPA plan and for maintenance budgets for federal facilities. The resolution directs the city clerk to transmit the council's request to the president and the local congressional delegation.