Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress on Thursday introduced legislation to help combat the ongoing Tijuana River sewage pollution across the U.S.-Mexico border by appointing the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead agency on the crisis.
Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both D-California, and Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, along with Reps. Juan Vargas, both D-San Diego, introduced the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act of 2025 on Thursday. In it, the legislators call for the EPA to create a new geographic program to manage each watershed through a comprehensive water quality management plan.
Additionally, it would require the EPA to identify a consensus list of priority projects, including incorporating a "comprehensive suite of projects" identified by EPA and IBWC in the 2022 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementation plan.
"Raw sewage and toxic waste from the Tijuana River are still shutting down public beaches, threatening the health of our families, and jeopardizing the readiness of our military and border personnel," Padilla said. "By assigning the Environmental Protection Agency with the clear role of coordinating with federal, state, local, and tribal leaders to maintain the health of the watershed, we're bringing the full weight and commitment of the federal government to address the Tijuana River pollution crisis."
Since 2018, more than 200 billion gallons of toxic sewage, trash, and unmanaged stormwater have flowed across the United States-Mexico border into the Tijuana River Valley and neighboring communities, forcing long-lasting beach closures and causing harmful impacts on public health, the environment and water quality.
"The Tijuana River pollution crisis is one of the worst ongoing ecological crises in this country, posing serious environmental and public health risks to Californians living and working near the U.S.-Mexico border and nearby beaches," Schiff said. "We must work quickly on a resolution, and this bill would provide clear direction and authority to EPA to work with state and local partners on a plan to give this crisis the focused attention it demands."
U.S. military personnel, border patrol agents, and the local economy have also suffered harmful impacts from airborne and waterborne transboundary sewage flows. In 2023, sewage flowed across the border at the highest volume in a quarter century, exceeding 44 billion gallons.
Untreated wastewater from Mexico's Tijuana River crosses the border into the United States and washes out to sea just south of Imperial Beach. The bacterial buildup from raw sewage in the wastewater has necessitated the closure of South Bay beaches almost without interruption for three years.
Earlier this year, Booker visited Imperial Beach to see the crisis up close.
"For too long, communities along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border have suffered the consequences of untreated sewage and toxic waste flowing into the Tijuana River," he said. "What I observed during my visit to Imperial Beach in May was unacceptable. This public health crisis, with growing economic and environmental impacts, would never be tolerated in Malibu or Mar-a- Lago and it shouldn't be tolerated here.
"This bicameral legislation will ensure the EPA leads a comprehensive effort in coordination with local, state, and federal officials to clean up the Tijuana River and New River watersheds, and finally deliver clean air and water to the San Diego community."
Booker's visit came the day after a UC San Diego report found dangerous chemical compounds are present not only in the water of the Tijuana River and off the coast of Imperial Beach, but are also aerosolized by ocean spray and make it into the air.
The paper's lead author, Adam Cooper, collected samples from the air and water at various points along the coast of San Diego County, including the U.S.-Mexico border, Imperial Beach and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. The tiny amount of pollutants caused by aerosolized spray can cause health problems.
"This horrible pollution has harmed the health of our communities, our local businesses, and our environment," Vargas said. "It's absolutely critical that we have a streamlined response from the federal government. But right now, there is no one agency in charge of addressing the pollution. There are too many cooks in the kitchen.
"Our legislation would finally change that and charge the EPA with coordinating the whole-of-government effort needed to combat this pollution."
An expansion to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant began in May and could be nearing completion, according to the United States International Boundary and Water Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Initial plans to expand the plant from processing 25 million to 35 million gallons of water per day were scheduled to take two years. The expansion was fast-tracked for completion in 100 days — Aug. 29.
"This is an environmental crisis, a public health crisis, and an economic crisis for San Diegans. The federal government should treat it as such," Peters said. "Our legislation institutes a whole-of-government approach for resolving this disaster. This is the same type of program you see in the San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Great Lakes; San Diego is no less deserving."
Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, and Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, are cosponsoring the bill in the House of Representatives.
