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Public Weighs Potential Fixes to Plug Sewage Problem at US-Mexico Border

The San Diego region last year secured $300 million to plug a decades-long wastewater pollution crises in waters that snake across the U.S.-Mexico border and dump raw sewage, trash and sediment into the Pacific Ocean.

On Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency officials held a virtual public meeting attended by more than 130 people to reveal 10 project proposals being considered to fix crumbing wastewater infrastructure at the border using the $300 million earmarked by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

D1 Candidates Split on the County’s Role in Addressing the Border Sewage Crisis

Though the flow of millions of gallons of sewage from Tijuana into San Diego has been happening for decades, local officials have been mounting pressure to address the issue over the last year.

Some of the candidates vying to represent District 1 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, which encompasses the areas most acutely impacted by the sewage flows – including Imperial Beach, parts of San Ysidro and near the Tijuana River Valley – think the county should play a larger role in responding to the crisis. Others told VOSD they’d mostly continue the county’s current approach.

With Signing of USMCA, Help is on the Way for Tijuana Sewage

President Donald Trump signed the renegotiated trade agreement with Mexico and Canada Monday that will replace NAFTA.

The bipartisan deal includes $300 million to help address the frequent sewage spills in Tijuana that contaminate beaches in San Diego’s South Bay.

“It’s a huge win for San Diego and it’s a huge win for our cross-border region,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who attended the signing ceremony outside the White House.

Trump Outlines Administration’s Work on Agriculture

Saying he had kept his promise to do everything at his disposal “to protect the American farmer and restore the full strength of American agriculture,” President Donald Trump described actions his administration has taken on trade, regulatory reform and other fronts on behalf of farmers and ranchers.

Trump spoke Sunday to the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Austin, Texas—the third year in a row the president has spoken to the nation’s largest farm organization. He also pledged to return to next year’s AFBF convention, which will be held in San Diego.

USMCA Trade Pact Includes $300M for U.S.-Mexico Border Sewer Woes, But Critics Fault Deal

When lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved the Trump administration’s new trade deal with Mexico and Canada last month, they authorized $300 million to help fix failing sewer systems that send raw sewage and toxic pollution flowing into rivers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The decision could bring an infusion of funding to help clean up the badly polluted New River, Tijuana River, and other rivers that flow across the border into the U.S.

State EPA Secretary Lauds Clean-up Funds in USMCA, Federal Funding Bills

California Environmental Protection Secretary Jared Blumenfeld lauded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and San Diego County’s congressional delegation Thursday for their successful efforts to include millions in funding in a new multi-national trade deal to mitigate toxic sewage flows in the Tijuana River Valley.

How the New North American Trade Pact May Lead to a Sewage Cleanup of the Tijuana River Valley

Local economic and government officials Tuesday praised the new United States-Mexico-Canada deal as a way to further boost the San Diego-Tijuana cross-border economy. But an environmental concern — the runoff of raw sewage that often flows from Tijuana and fouls beaches from Imperial Beach to as far north as Coronado — might end up being one of the agreement’s most significant measures.