California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Tuesday night against the Trump administration, alleging that the federal government violated the Clean Water Act by allowing, in recent years, millions of gallons of raw sewage, heavy metals and other contamination to routinely spill from Tijuana into San Diego.

Toxic water pollution from Mexico shuttered San Diego beaches located near the Tijuana River Valley on more than 500 days in the last three years, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit — which specifically targets the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC — paints a picture of a negligent and dismissive federal agency, failing to follow through on its responsibility to address cross-border issues with Mexico.

“While the federal government has invested in other border issues, they haven’t invested in these water-quality issues,” said Dave Gibson, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which filed the lawsuit jointly with the state Attorney General.


“California taxpayers shouldn’t expect that their money go to fix this when it’s the responsibility of the federal government,” he added.

IBWC and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment for this story, citing the litigation.

In the past, agency officials have said they have little authority over the congressional funding needed to improve the situation.

The state’s lawsuit follows a similar legal strategy launched by elected officials in South Bay San Diego after a spill last year sent hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage flowing down the Tijuana River into the Pacific Ocean, fouling beaches as far north as Coronado.


Following failed talks with IBWC, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego filed a lawsuit against the federal agency in March alleging sweeping violations of Clean Water Act.

The San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation also filed a similar lawsuit in July.

The county and city of San Diego signaled a willingness to join the legal strategy, but neither party has followed through yet.

Plaintiffs argued that because IBWC controls a flood-control channel that redirects the Tijuana River on its way to the Pacific Ocean, as well as water-capture basins in five canyons along the border, the agency is responsible for the pollution that often escapes those systems.


The canyon collectors and pumps on the Tijuana River are intended to divert polluted flows to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant west of San Ysidro.

“We’ve learned that small spills when they’re really toxic can have a huge impact on public health, and if IBWC were doing their job it wouldn’t happen,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina “They’re not even trying. All they do it make excuses. It’s embarrassing how little they care about environmental or public health or following the law.”

Lawyers for the defense have said that the government isn’t legally responsible for the renegade flows that escape their collection systems, pointing out that the situation would be significantly worse without its efforts.


Before the federal government spent roughly $344 million to create its diversion and treatment system in the 1990s, millions of gallons of sewage would flow daily down the Tijuana River into San Diego County.

Following an unexpected tour of the Tijuana River Valley in August, federal court judge Jeffrey T. Miller ruled that the case could move forward despite a motion by the defense to dismiss the lawsuit.

Federal court judge Jeffery T. Miller (4th from left), along with a contingent of lawyers, governments officials, and business representatives, tour the Goat Canyon collector in the Tijuana River Valley, which has been plagued with sewage and other water pollution. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The state’s lawsuit takes a narrower approach than that of the local cities. It focuses specifically on the maintenance and operation of the collector basins, which are designed to funnel water that spills through the canyons to the wastewater treatment plant during dry weather.


The lawsuit alleges that IBWC has failed to keep the diversion pumps free of debris, leading to a clogged system that allows the basins to overflow into the surrounding areas.

The complaint also says the agency has failed to document and report spills on a number of occasions in recent years.

As foul-smelling, often black, polluted water has bypassed the collection systems, it has impacted border patrol agents working in the area, as well as residents and farmers in the Tijuana River Valley.

Union officials with the National Border Patrol Council have said they have also considered filing a lawsuit against the federal government to force more action on the issue.


“We’re trying not to go down that road, but we don’t want our people to be getting chemical burns or getting sick or dying early because they won’t clean it up,” said Christopher Harris, a border agent in San Diego for 20 years and the secretary for the local border patrol union.

On Tuesday, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted officials with Comision Estatal de Servicios Publicos de Tijuana, or CESPT, a state agency that operates the city’s sewer and water delivery system.

Regional director German Lizola told a group of elected officials and business leaders that Tijuana was having a hard time keeping up with its population growth.

“We continue to knock on many doors. We are doing everything possible to work on these issues,” he said through a translator.


“The problem that we have to face is a lack of resources for infrastructure in Mexico,” he added. “We are two different countries and that deal with different issues.”

Officials have said that Tijuana and other border towns have some of the best wastewater infrastructure in Mexico, in large part, due to past U.S. grants and other federal programs that facilitate low-interest loans.

Some of Tijuana’s valleys are filled with trash and waste, which often ends up in the Tijuana and Alamar Rivers. In the hillsides of Colonia Bugambilias trash is dumped into valley and then the waste ends up in the Alamar river. (Alejandro Tamayo / San Diego Union-Tribune)


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