Schiff Joins Rep. Peters & Senator Padilla Request for Emergency Disaster Funding to Confront Cross-Border Wastewater Pollution

September 12, 2024

Washington, D.C.- Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in urging congressional leadership from both parties to include additional funds for repairing and upgrading the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in any upcoming emergency disaster funding package.The letter was signed by 13 bipartisan members of Congress.

The authors led a similar request last year and secured President Biden's inclusion of the request in his proposed domestic supplemental package. Following that request, members secured an additional $156 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission's (IBWC) construction budget this year - most of which will be spent at the broken plant.

In their letter addressed to Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the members state, "In 2021, the San Diego Congressional delegation secured $300 million in the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA) to fund an expansion of the SBIWTP from 25 million gallons per day (mgd) to 50 mgd. This funding, in combination with Fiscal Year 2024 funding, has supported the planning, study, and design of projects critical for the rehabilitation and expansion of SBIWTP. However, last year we learned that significantly more funding is needed to rehabilitate the plant before the IBWC can expand the plant. These new costs jeopardize the United States' ability to fulfill its international obligations under the treaty known as Minute 328."

And they concluded, "Securing emergency funding is crucial to rehabilitate and expand the plant in order to protect public health and the environment, and to stop the economic damage cross-border sewage flows have had on our communities for far too long. For these reasons, we are requesting the highest amount of funding possible for IBWC in any supplemental package or budget deal in order to address deferred maintenance and expand capacity at SBIWTP."

The letter was also signed by Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.).

Full text of the letter here and below:

Dear Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries:

We write to urgently request full funding for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in any upcoming disaster supplemental package.

The State Department's International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) operates a federal owned water treatment facility, the SBIWTP, along the San Diego-Tijuana border to treat the transnational flow of polluted water. Years of underinvestment have reduced the SBIWTP's capacity to treat the toxic effluent it receives, resulting in the discharge of treated and untreated stormwater and wastewater into the ocean. As a result, tides carrying polluted water into San Diego degrade the environment, disrupt U.S. Navy and border security operations, and threaten the local economy.

In 2021, the San Diego Congressional delegation secured $300 million in the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA) to fund an expansion of the SBIWTP from 25 million gallons per day (mgd) to 50 mgd. This funding, in combination with Fiscal Year 2024 funding, has supported the planning, study, and design of projects critical for the rehabilitation and expansion of SBIWTP. However, last year we learned that significantly more funding is needed to rehabilitate the plant before the IBWC can expand the plant. These new costs jeopardize the United States' ability to fulfill its international obligations under the treaty known as Minute 328.

Securing emergency funding is crucial to rehabilitate and expand the plant in order to protect public health and the environment, and to stop the economic damage cross-border sewage flows have had on our communities for far too long. For these reasons, we are requesting the highest amount of funding possible for IBWC in any supplemental package or budget deal in order to address deferred maintenance and expand capacity at SBIWTP. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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