The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday that the Trump administration signed an updated agreement with Mexico addressing the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
The EPA has been working with Mexico on the issue and signed a substantive memorandum of understanding (MOU) in July. The new agreement explicitly holds Mexico responsible for producing a water infrastructure “master plan” within six months, maintaining new and current facilities and construction projects necessary for ending raw sewage flows into U.S. waterways. Waste flowing into Southern California from Mexico has contaminated the San Diego area for decades, with the crisis causing offensive odors, beach closures and illnesses among some Navy SEALs training off the coast.
Under the agreement, called Minute 333, the U.S. and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) agreed to a “list of new actions, including infrastructure projects, research, enhanced monitoring, and planning for operation and maintenance of critical sites and systems that will account for future population growth in Tijuana,” according to the EPA.
“Great progress has been made this year to achieve the 100% solution to the Tijuana River sewage crisis, but it would have all been for nothing if we don’t take the appropriate steps to account for the inevitable population growth of Tijuana and surrounding areas,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Monday. “That’s what Minute 333 achieves. We have set the framework for tremendous steps to be made, and we now look forward to very quickly hitting the ground running to implement the mutually agreed upon actions. I saw the frustration of San Diego area residents firsthand when I visited in April. I promised them a 100% solution to this issue, and the Trump EPA is doing its part to deliver.”
The EPA noted that the July MOU set the groundwork for the new Minute signed Monday. Zeldin has called for a “100% solution” to the environmental and human health crisis and emphasized that no new American tax dollars will be used to fund the projects outlined in Minute 333.
“Moving at Trump Speed, Minute 333 was negotiated and signed in record time,” an EPA release said Monday. “While in the past, Minutes have at times taken years to be agreed upon, the Trump Administration got this done in under five months, beating the December 31st deadline set in the July Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of the Environment and National Resources of Mexico Alicia Bárcena Ibarra in Mexico City. Minute 333 is a direct result of that MOU.”
The EPA argues that earlier agreements, such as Minute 328, fell short of the “100% solution” San Diego residents need because they did not account for future population growth in Tijuana, which is a gap that Minute 333 addresses.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue, writing on Dec. 10 that “Mexico must take care of its water and sewage problem, IMMEDIATELY.”
California politicians across the political aisle threw their support behind the Monday agreement, with the EPA displaying statements from Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa and Democratic Reps. Scott Peters and Mike Levin.
Former Navy SEAL and Republican Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy said in a statement Monday that “this latest agreement between the United States and Mexico is a tremendous step in the right direction. As a SEAL who trained in these waters, I’m grateful to President Trump and Administrator Zeldin for their laser focus on bringing a quick, lasting end to the toxic tide that has caused serious health issues for our troops, harming our readiness and our national security.”
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