IMPERIAL BEACH (KGTV) — The newly-appointed administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, has acknowledged the Tijuana sewage crisis on social media, bringing renewed attention to a long-standing environmental issue affecting the U.S.-Mexico border region.
In a recent X post, Zeldin stated, "I was just briefed that Mexico is dumping large amounts of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, and it's now seeping into the U.S. This is unacceptable. Mexico must honor its commitments to control this pollution and sewage!"
The post comes days after Aguirre said she wrote a letter to Zeldin asking him to authorize a new review for Superfund status to "Unlock large-scale federal clean-up efforts."
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre responded positively to this development, saying, "It's incredibly meaningful that he is taking attention to this matter." She added, "The fact that there is an acknowledgment that this is a serious concern from the highest environmental protection authority of the land is incredibly hopeful."
This acknowledgment comes after years of efforts to draw federal attention to the issue. Mayor Aguirre revealed that she visited the White House three times last year alone, but "at the end of the day, we didn't get what mattered most, which was a state of emergency."
Last October, Aguirre and County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer submitted a petition to the EPA for a Superfund designation, which was denied. Aguirre expressed frustration, stating, "It was denied under the Biden administration based on data that was 6 years old. They didn't even take the time to come and take soil samples."
The mayor has now invited Zeldin to visit the South Bay to witness the situation firsthand. She remains cautiously optimistic, noting, "We've been promised things before and we haven't had action."
Aguirre emphasized the urgency of the situation, describing it as a "ticking time bomb" for public health in the South Bay. She stressed the need for immediate action, saying, "We need to put infrastructure on our side. We need to armor everything, so we prevent all of that waste from impacting us... we can't wait for Mexico to solve their issues."
As the community awaits further response from the EPA, Zeldin's social media post has breathed new life into the mission of finding solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis, potentially paving the way for more federal involvement and resources to address this pressing environmental and public health issue.
