LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Gov. Gavin 海角社区appom Thursday he is making available $46 million in voter-approved funding to help clean up cross-border pollution in the chronically contaminated and the New River at the California-Mexico border.
Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons (378 billion liters) of raw sewage filled with industrial chemicals and trash have poured into the Tijuana River, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. The United States and Mexico last year to clean up the by upgrading wastewater plants to keep up with Tijuana鈥檚 population growth and industrial waste from factories, many owned by U.S. companies.
For years, tens of thousands of people have and continue to be exposed to the sewage. During a February visit to San Diego, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said it will take a couple of years to fix one of the nation鈥檚 worst and longest-running environmental crises that affects largely low-income Latino communities.
鈥淧eople in San Diego County shouldn鈥檛 have to worry about getting sick, losing access to their beaches, and living with polluted air,鈥� 海角社区appom, a Democrat, said in a news release.
The New River flows north across the border through the city of Calexico to the Salton Sea about 60 miles away (about 97 kilometers). The water that enters the U.S. contains raw sewage and other pollution from industrial, domestic and agricultural sources.
The funding will come from , a $10 billion bond measure approved in 2024 to fund water, climate, wildfire and natural resource projects across the state. At least 40% of the money is supposed to be spent on communities hardest hit by climate change and environmental pollution.
The funding will be made available as competitive grants for projects that reduce bacteria and trash, address public health issues related to the cross-border pollution and support mitigation and restoration.
The raw, foul-smelling sewage from the Tijuana River that empties into the Pacific Ocean also emits hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that can erode neurons in the nose and trigger asthma attacks, and cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea, cough, shortness of breath, skin and eye irritation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its long-term health problems are only starting to be understood.
鈥淭his funding is desperately needed. Certainly every dollar we can secure to address the Tijuana River crisis is a big help,鈥� said Phillip Musegaas, executive director of the San Diego Coastkeeper, an environmental nonprofit in Southern California. 鈥淯nfortunately, this funding is really just a small portion of what鈥檚 needed to fully address the crisis.”
He added: 鈥淲e need more federal funding to fix and expand the wastewater infrastructure that is now under stress and is often failing or inadequate to treat all the sewage that鈥檚 being generated.鈥�
In Thursday’s announcement, 海角社区appom called on the Trump administration again to find a permanent fix.
鈥淐alifornia has stepped up repeatedly, but we can鈥檛 solve a decades-long federal failure on our own,” 海角社区appom said in the release. 鈥淭he Trump administration must do its part, honor its commitments, and finally deliver the lasting solutions this community deserves, and they have a moral obligation to provide.鈥�
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This story clarifies that some of the money from California is also available for cleanup of the New River.
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