A lot of positive movement has occurred recently to tackle the Tijuana River sewage crisis at the urging of Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and Chairwoman Nora Vargas, and now they want the County of San Diego to support a new effort to hold corporate polluters in California accountable.  

Senator Steve Padilla’s Senate Bill 1178 requires large corporations of 2,500+ employees to publicly disclose their wastewater discharges and directs the State Water Resources Board Control Board (SWRCB) to create the “California Water Quality and Public Health Impact Surcharge” which will quantify the costs of mitigating that contamination.

“We need to hold large companies that discharge toxins into our waters accountable, and Senate Bill 1178 will help us do it in a way that protects California and San Diego County’s environmental future,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer.  “I appreciate Senator Padilla’s leadership on this issue and stand ready to help him bring this legislation over the finish line.”     

“It’s time for corporations to face responsibility for polluting our coastal communities – that’s why I’m a strong supporter of SB 1178,” said Chairwoman Nora Vargas of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “As we work to uplift our binational region, this legislation will put an end to releasing sewage flows that contaminate our water and emissions that create unmitigated air pollution for the people and families who live and work here.”

Senator Padilla’s SB 1178 was introduced in February and was referred to the State Senate Environmental Quality Committee on April 3, 2024. It is set for its first hearing in the committee on April 17, 2024. 

“San Diegans are sick of corporations polluting at will, poisoning our communities, and escaping the consequences. We must hold these polluters accountable and begin to address generations of contamination. I am so proud to have the support of Supervisors Vargas and Lawson-Remer. Their local leadership is instrumental as we work to correct this enduring environmental injustice,” said Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego)

The bill is backed by some prominent local environmental groups such as Coastkeeper, Surfrider Foundation, and the Climate Action Campaign, as well as elected officials such as Mayor Paloma Aguirre.

For decades, the pollution in the Tijuana River Valley has impacted South Bay communities and is now impacting San Diego County’s coastal communities to the north such as Coronado, San Diego’s Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and Del Mar. The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors – because of Supervisors Vargas and Lawson-Remer – declared a local proclamation regarding the environmental crisis due to transboundary pollution on June 27, 2023. 

To read the entire policy, click here.