Padilla Secures Additional $103 Million in Funding for Tijuana River Wastewater Treatment Plant
FY 24 appropriations bill includes provision to allow other federal agencies and state and local governments to contribute funds to construction and operations
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he has secured over $103 million in additional funding for the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in the bipartisan FY 2024 appropriations package. The funding will help repair the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego to address transborder water pollution in the area.
Additionally, the bill includes a provision allowing other federal agencies as well as state and local governments to contribute funds to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the IBWC plant.
“For far too long, toxic waste and raw sewage have flowed across the border, not only creating health and environmental hazards for local communities, but jeopardizing the readiness of our military personnel,” said Senator Padilla. “We need an urgent, all-hands-on-deck effort to combat this pollution crisis. The package announced today heeds my call to allow other federal agencies and state and local governments to contribute funds to clean up the dangerous pollution contaminating Southern California’s air and water while providing an additional $103 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission to address this crisis with the urgency it demands. This is a major step forward, and I will keep fighting for resources and working with my colleagues to finally resolve the Tijuana River pollution crisis.”
Senator Padilla has prioritized addressing the Tijuana River pollution crisis since he first came to the Senate. As Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, Padilla recently urged the Army Corps of Engineers to address the Tijuana River pollution crisis during an EPW hearing on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024.
In June 2023, he traveled to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission Wastewater Treatment Plant near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego. Following Tropical Storm Hilary, Padilla and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein called on Senate leadership to include $310 million in the emergency supplemental bill to repair infrastructure needed to treat the wastewater flowing across the border with Mexico through the Tijuana River, which has closed local beaches for more than 800 days in a row. The Senators also successfully secured language in the FY 2023 appropriations package to eliminate red tape and allow the Environmental Protection Agency to deliver $300 million previously secured in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the International Boundary and Water Commission for water infrastructure projects.
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