SF mayor calls Trump's remarks on used needles pouring into the ocean 'ridiculous'

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, file photo, San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during her state of the city address in San Francisco. Nearly two dozen patients, many of them elderly dementia sufferers, were abused by employees at a public hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, health department officials said Friday, June 28, 2019. Mayor Breed called the revelations "profoundly hurtful, offensive, and heartbreaking for so many of us who care deeply about this hospital" and praised the health department's swift action in holding staff responsible "for their horrific actions." less FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, file photo, San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks during her state of the city address in San Francisco. Nearly two dozen patients, many of them elderly dementia ... more Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close SF mayor calls Trump's remarks on used needles pouring into the ocean 'ridiculous' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

San Francisco Mayor London Breed called President Donald Trump's claim that used drug needles are pouring into the ocean "ridiculous" in a statement Wednesday night.

At the tail end of his California visit on Wednesday, Trump threatened to unleash the Environmental Protection Agency on San Francisco, accusing the city of allowing massive amounts of waste, including needles, to go through storm drains into the ocean.

"It's a terrible situation that's in Los Angeles and in San Francisco," Trump told reporters on Air Force One returning to Washington. "And we're going to be giving San Francisco — they're in total violation — we're going to be giving them a notice very soon."

"They have to clean it up. We can't have our cities going to hell," he said.

Breed was quick to respond. "To be clear, San Francisco has a combined sewer system, one of the best and most effective in the country, that ensures that all debris that flow into storm drains are filtered out at the city's wastewater treatment plants," she said. "No debris flow out into the bay or the ocean."

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San Francisco has long struggled with problems of human waste and needles on the streets, especially in the Tenderloin district where many addicts and homeless people congregate to access services. The city set up public toilets and last year announced formation of a special six-person "poop patrol" team to clean up the human waste.

The city also announced funding to hire people to pick up used needles.

Many of those needles came from the city itself. The health department hands out an estimated 400,000 clean syringes a month under programs designed to reduce the risk of HIV and other infections for drug users who might otherwise share contaminated needles.

In her statement, Breed said the city is fighting homelessness by adding 1,000 beds to shelters and wants to pass a $600 million bond to build affordable housing and increase services for people with addiction and mental illness.

During his two-day fund-raising visit to California, Trump also bashed California's "liberal establishment" for the surge in homelessness, echoing remarks he has made on this topic in the past.

On Tuesday, Trump said his administration "can't let Los Angeles, San Francisco and numerous other cities destroy themselves by allowing what's happening" and vowed to do something about the problem. But at the time, he only mentioned creating a task force.

Breed responded to Trump's visit on Twitter, writing, "The President is cutting clean air and clean water standards, restricting our ability to regulate car emissions, and denying climate change even exists. He's cut funding for homelessness and affordable housing. In SF, we're meeting the challenges on our streets."

Amy Graff is a digital editor for SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.