U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin visited with San Diego leaders Tuesday and got a first-hand look at the persistent sewage issues plaguing the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the issue needs to be resolved with "extreme urgency."
Among those meeting with Zeldin were county Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond; Reps. Darrell Issa and Mike Levin; Coronado Mayor John Duncan; Chula Vista Mayor John McCann; and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells.
Zeldin's trip also included a Monday night meeting with Alicia Bárcena, secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, and other Mexican officials for what he said was a discussion "about ending decades of raw sewage entering the U.S. from Mexico."
"It was clear in the way that the Mexican environmental secretary approached every aspect of this meeting yesterday ... that she wants to have a strong collaborative relationship," Zeldin said. "... I welcome that collaboration."
He said he hopes a joint statement will be issued in the coming weeks about what Mexican authorities plan to do to help resolve the crisis. Local leaders, meanwhile, plan to compile a comprehensive list of projects needed to end the flow of pollution.
Zeldin was also set to visit the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
"This visit for EPA is very important for us to make sure that we aren't just seeing and hearing first hand on the ground in Southern California, but ensuring that the path forward is one of max collaboration and extreme urgency to end a crisis that should have ended a long time ago," he said.
"It's a beautiful day where people should be able to spend an Earth Day not worrying about foul smells in the air, ... public health, beach closures and so much more," Zeldin said. "But that's the reality that Americans in Southern California have had to live through for way too long. They want action and they're right."
After the meeting, Desmond issued a statement calling the discussion a "productive and vital step forward for the future of Southern California."
Desmond said he appreciated the time spent by Zeldin, along with the federal government's "growing recognition of this crisis ... that has plagued Southern California for far too long."
The meeting was held at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
Desmond, who is running for Levin's congressional seat, said he was "assured that real, tangible solutions are on the way," but he is anxious to see tangible results.
In recent years, the U.S.-Mexico border sewage pollution problem has closed beaches and caused serious health issues for some residents. Untreated wastewater from Mexico's Tijuana River crosses the border into the United States and washes out to sea just south of Imperial Beach.
The bacterial buildup from raw sewage in the wastewater has necessitated the closure of South Bay beaches almost without interruption for three years.
Desmond said the border pollution is not just an environmental issue, but a national security matter.
"When our Navy SEALs are getting sick from toxic waste and being forced to move their training due to contamination in U.S. waters," Desmond said. "That's a direct threat to our military readiness and national defense."
"The United States must elevate this crisis to the level of international diplomacy — and that starts with holding the Mexican government accountable," Desmond added.
In a statement Monday, Levin said he looked forward to Zeldin's visit, but "what matters most is what happens after he leaves. We need action. And we need to fix this in a bipartisan way once and for all."
"We can't allow Administrator Zeldin or anyone in the Trump administration to talk about solving this crisis while proposing cuts to the very agencies responsible for the solution. (Department of Government Efficiency) and House Republicans have already targeted funding for the (International Boundary Water Commission), which operates the plant."
McCann, who is running for the District 1 county supervisor seat, said he was "grateful to have Administrator Zeldin in San Diego to see firsthand the challenges our community faces and to help us push for sustainable, long-term solutions."
"I am committed to working alongside Administrator Zeldin to provide innovative solutions that will finally put an end to this 30-year crisis," McCann added.
In response to Zeldin's visit to the Tijuana River on Tuesday, which was also Earth Day, the Transboundary Pollution Coalition for Advocacy and Healing released a statement calling the pollution a public health crisis.
"Working families on both sides of the border have a right to be together outdoors around a healthy river and coastline," according to the group. "The Tijuana River pollution crisis is complex and binational, and our community-based coalition is deeply committed to respecting human rights and working collaboratively in both the U.S. and Mexico."
The coalition describes itself as representing "over 50 community- based organizations, government agencies and community leaders to drive collective awareness and action on the transboundary pollution crisis impacting Southern California and the Tijuana region of Mexico.*
Coalition officials said San Diego, U.S. and Mexican authorities need "to fund and implement immediate, commonsense solutions for a healthy Tijuana River."
"Now is the time to hold all policymakers accountable for common- sense solutions to fix the sewage, industrial waste, trash, hydrogen sulfide and other toxins in our river, ocean and air, as well as prevent future impacts from climate change and heal our communities that are suffering the greatest harm," coalition officials said.
Members of the groups San Diego 350 and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation were on hand for the event, saying in a statement they wanted "to protest the Trump administration's unprecedented attacks on environmental protections, illegal cuts to funding for critical community and environmental health programs, and threats to the tax exempt status of organizations dedicated to conservation, environmental protection, civil rights and community health."
Corinna Contreras, a member of the Vista City Council, said San Diego organizations "facing illegally denied federal grants and funding cuts keep our waters and beaches safe and clean, protect our children from harmful pollution, and hold industry accountable for poisoning our atmosphere."
