The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief on Tuesday demanded that Mexico put an end to the unfettered flow of raw sewage from the Tijuana region into Southern California.
"Mexico needs to fulfill its part in cleaning up the contamination that they caused — their people caused," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at a press conference in the area.
"They cannot view this as a U.S. problem, just because their contamination reached U.S. soil," Zeldin added, describing the crisis as "top of mind" for President Trump.
Southern San Diego County towns have for years been the cross-border recipients of wastewater tainted with chemicals and pathogens. The contaminated water is the result of insufficient treatment in Mexico and ends up in California via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River Watershed.
This transboundary crisis, which has for years shuttered beaches and sickened Navy SEALs, has threatened public health both via water pollution and by generating airborne contaminants.
During Zeldin's trip, he also made a stop at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, a facility on the U.S. side of the border that treats some of Tijuana’s waste through an international treaty.
California Democrats last month began urging him to visit the site, where conditions have been deteriorating for years.
Congress in 2020 allocated $300 million toward renovating the plant, but officials maintained that it required $150 million more to function properly. The Biden administration then asked lawmakers last fall to approve an additional $310 million.
While the $156 million sum did not reach the $310 million total, it was still $103 million more than the $53.03 million allocated the previous year.
In addition to touring the decrepit wastewater treatment plant, Zeldin said he participated in a roundtable with local, state and federal elected officials to discuss the ongoing crisis.
He also recounted a Monday evening meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Secretary Alicia Bárcena, in which they discussed tangible steps to improve conditions.
Zeldin said that he and Bárcena would be immediately calling for a meeting of the North American Development Bank, to talk through related infrastructure projects on both sides of the border.
He estimated that within a few days, he and his colleagues would be able to develop and deliver "one comprehensive list of everything that we believe with full confidence is going to end the crisis."
"We don't want the 70 percent solution or the 90 percent solution, but we all need to be on the same page, on the 100 percent solution from the U.S. side," Zeldin said.
The EPA chief also stressed that Mexico must account for expected population growth in the Tijuana region when planning forthcoming water projects, to ensure "that five years from now, or 10 years from now, we're not back sitting at a table again."
Rep. Darrell Issa (R), who represents part of the affected region, echoed Zeldin's sentiments, and he added that Mexico's water-related projects should be inspected by officials designated by America. Such an approach, he contended, would be similar to U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections of Mexican fruits and groves.
"This is, in fact, Mexico's garbage being thrown over our fence," Issa added. "This is Mexico's sewage coming into our waters."
Zeldin's presence in this border region was met not just with Republican support, but also with the backing of certain local Democrats.
Rep. Mike Levin (D) expressed confidence that Zeldin is "going to do a lot of good for this issue, because he's focused on results, he's focused on accountability, and he's focused on speeding up the timeline."
Describing a "constructive visit," Levin praised Zeldin for "working in a bipartisan way" in Congress, adding, "I hope I don't get you in trouble saying this."
While Levin represents San Diego's North County, which isn't quite as affected by the contamination, he noted that a relative who trained as a Navy SEAL ended up getting cancer in his 20s.
He acknowledged that there's no way to confirm that the cancer was caused by the wastewater influx, but he emphasized the importance of solving the toxic sewage crisis nonetheless.
"We've got to do everything we can to hold Mexico to account and work with them on that untreated sewage in the Tijuana River," Levin said. "Hopefully we will have a safer, cleaner environment for generations to come."