California Supervisor Slams Mexico Over Imminent Dump Of Sewage Water: 'It's Time For Federal Action'

A California official is slamming Mexico over the incoming dumping of sewage water in the Tijuana River, a move that will compound to an ongoing crisis in the area that has been plagued by pungent smell and impacted residents.

Concretely, San Diego County supervisor Jim Desmond said on Thursday that Mexico "is set to dump 400 MILLION gallons of sewage water into the Tijuana River."

"Instead of rerouting the flow during maintenance, they're choosing the easy way out—dump it into the U.S. and make it our problem. This is unacceptable. Our communities, beaches, and environment deserve better. It's time for federal action. We cannot continue to be the dumping ground for another country's pollution," Desmond added.

Local officials have been seeking to draw national attention to the matter over months, often voicing their frustration at the federal government for not taking the steps they claim are necessary to address it.

Earlier this year, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre slammed the Biden administration for refusing to declare an emergency, saying she and a delegation visited the White House three times this year with this purpose.

"It's extremely concerning that we have the largest health crisis, the biggest environmental injustice in the nation and we haven't seen that leadership from both our state and federal governments," Aguirre told the outlet, remarking that California Gov. Gavin Newsom took the same stance as Biden.

Newsom visited the area for the first time in late October to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Diego. "The Tijuana River sewage crisis has impacted our communities for far too long," Newsom said. "We are making real progress – but our work is far from over — we need serious, continued action to protect public health and restore our environment."

However, Aguirre told Border Report back then that the "plant is not going to reduce our crisis."

Imperial Beach is one of the most affected areas by the sewage and overall pollution coming into the Tijuana River Valley from Mexico; its beach was recently deemed one of the most polluted in the country.

Lee Zeldin, President Trump's new EPA administrator, said this week he would be traveling to the area soon to get a look at "where disgusting Mexican sewage is harming our precious environment in the United States." He said that Mexico must quickly implement solutions, a statement praised by Aguirre.

"We need a federal state of emergency, immediate resources to stop the sewage flows and yes, more pressure on Mexico to take action on their side of the border - and I intend to tell Administrator Zeldin all that and more," she said in a statement.