County To Search For Lawsuits That Help Stop TJ River Sewage Flow & Expedite Repairs
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors today supported a policy co-docketed by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and Chairwoman Nora Vargas to pursue litigation involving the Tijuana River Valley. It passed by a vote of 5-0.
The passage of this policy means that the County’s legal counsel every 90 days must present the Board of Supervisors updates and available opportunities to pursue lawsuits against any potentially responsible parties for damages caused to the Tijuana River Valley, Estuary and Marine Preserve, and the surrounding neighborhoods. According to the policy, options should include, but are not limited to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
“We must do everything within our County’s authority to protect public health and ensure our beaches, coastlines, and communities are free from toxic pollution. Taking legal action is another lever we can pull to help address this crisis,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer, Vice Chair, San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
"Today our Board of Supervisors took concerted and collaborative action that expands our legal options to address the ongoing and urgent environmental health crisis in the Tijuana River Valley," said Chairwoman Nora Vargas. "As Chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, I’m continuously working with federal, state and local partners to secure immediate and long-term solutions that protect the health and safety of all who live here. The only way through this is by continuing to work together and putting our communities first."
In 2017, the County of San Diego was preparing to pursue legal action over the wastewater violations now being outlined by the residents of Imperial Beach, but the previous Board of Supervisors opted for inaction instead.
Background: Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s Involvement in Helping to Fix the Tijuana Sewage Crisis
Supervisor Lawson-Remer has been advocating for the state and federal government to step up with more funding and support to resolve the Tijuana Sewage Emergency Environmental Crisis.
In June 2023, Supervisor Lawson-Remer, working with Chairwoman Nora Vargas got more than 2,500 county residents to sign a petition calling for federal action from President Joe Biden. Later that month at the urging of Supervisor Lawson-Remer and the Chairwoman, the Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency in response to the ongoing transboundary sewage and pollution crisis. The Board also called on Governor Gavin Newsom and President Biden to issue similar declarations that would expedite access to federal resources and draw national attention to the crisis.
Supervisor Lawson-Remer worked with and lobbied the San Diego congressional delegation to take action, and went to Washington to lobby others. So far, the U.S. The Federal Government has made more than $456 million available to fix the international wastewater treatment plant on the U.S. side of the border. After significant lobbying, the Mexican government agreed to fix the main sewage plant on their side of the border, and they have an aggressive deadline. These have been major steps in the right direction for a problem that has been decades long, but Supervisor Lawson-Remer continues to fight for more investments to permanently resolve the issue.
In June 2024, Supervisor Lawson-Remer secured support from the Board of Supervisors for a policy she introduced to expand data collection and develop stronger decontamination protocols for sewage-contaminated floodwaters. The Policy will:
- Launching a Community Health Survey examining health impacts beyond direct water exposure
- Development of a Tijuana River Public Health Risk Dashboard
- Development of a local decontamination protocols for sewage contaminated floodwaters
- Collaboration with the Task Force to develop a list of data sources that can support tracking sewage-associated non-reportable diseases.
- Requesting zip-code level data from California Breathing Program.
- Enhanced communication with other agencies to increase surveillance and testing under their purview, including San Diego Regional Water Control Board, Air Pollution Control District, CDPH, and CDC.
- Pursuing additional funding and support to assess economic and public health impacts of the sewage crisis.
On September 18, 2024 Supervisor Lawson-Remer convened a meeting with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDAPCD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), County of San Diego Public Health Services (PHS), the Department of Environmental Quality (DEHQ), and researchers from San Diego State University and the University of California San Diego to discuss how to best collaborate and share information amongst the different groups and agencies working to address the odors and health effects of sewage from the Tijuana River Valley.
On September 26, Supervisor Lawson-Remer requested North County coastal communities support providing air purifiers to assist southern coastal communities manage the immediate needs to eliminate the smells and poor air quality caused by the river crisis. On October 8, she introduced a policy to pursue making the Tijuana River Valley a Superfund site.