The effort to fix the longstanding sewage crisis plaguing Tijuana's border area took another step forward.
California State Senator Steven Padilla visited the Tijuana River Estuary Monday to discuss his legislative package aimed to tackle the crisis. The package contains Senate Bill 1208 and Senate Bill 1178.
Padilla said Senate Bill 1208 will put a stop to the creation of a landfill around the Tijuana watershed, while Senate Bill 1178 will hold corporations near the border responsible for the waste they produce.
"Slowly and unsuspectingly, this community is being poisoned," Padilla said.
Joined by a coalition comprising of Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, The Port of San Diego, the YMCA, and Alliance San Diego, Padilla rallied support for the bills, which they believe will combat potential situations making the sewage crisis worse.
"It's going to take awhile, but we have to put the pieces in place," Padilla said. "We need to protect the Tijuana river watershed and we need to hold folks accountable who continue to contribute to the problem."
Padilla said the two bills will be voted on in an Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee on Tuesday. If approved, they will proceed to another committee before potentially reaching the Goverson Gavin Newsom's desk.
