Lawmakers call for federal action on Tijuana River pollution crisis

Sen Alex Padilla visited the Tijuana River Valley region in June to advocate for improved sewage restoration File photo courtesy of Sen Alex Padilla California lawmakers on Thursday re-introduced the Territory line Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act to combat ongoing corruption from the Tijuana River San Diego Democrats Juan Vargas and Scott Peters introduced the bill in the House of Representatives Two fellow members of San Diego s House delegation Sara Jacobs and Mike Levin are cosponsors on the bill along with Rep Raul Ruiz D-La Quinta On the Senate floor both California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff introduced the bill This is an environmental predicament a residents medical emergency and an economic situation for San Diegans The federal executive should treat it as such Peters disclosed in a press release This is not the first time the bill has surfaced as a piece of bicameral ordinance It was introduced in and again in However the reintroduction comes just after functionaries disclosed results from the Centers for Illness Control s survey of how people near the frontier felt about the Tijuana River contamination dilemma and its effects on them Roughly of people surveyed commented they were concerned about beach water quality and another cited concerns over the Tijuana River s quality Lastly of respondents had concerns over the cleanliness of their drinking water In an effort to more effectively deal with the corruption problem the new bill leans on the Environmental Protection Agency to step up The Dividing line Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would establish the EPA as the lead agency coordinating efforts between federal state tribal and local agencies to deal with contamination The bill also would establish an EPA Geographic Activity that would implement a water quality management plan within days of the bill s passing The EPA already has Geographic Programs that protect local ecosystems through water quality improvement habitat restoration and environmental schooling It s absolutely critical that we have a streamlined response from the federal administration But right now there is no one agency in charge of addressing the toxicity There are too multiple cooks in the kitchen Our decree would absolutely change that Vargas mentioned The rule is backed by local cities including San Diego and Coronado Imperial County Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre an incoming county supervisor the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and more