IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. — The Biden administration requested $310 million from Congress to go towards infrastructure repairs and maintenance to stop sewage that flows from the Tijuana River.
Sewage from the Tijuana River shuts down beaches in Imperial Beach and Coronado every year.
"It just makes me so sad. I love this town. We have to do the work. Mexico is not going to fix it. it's an international crime but we need to be in charge of the plant," said Pam, who has lived in Imperial Beach for more than 70 years.
The sewage issues have negative effects on health and the environment.
"Obviously environmental concerns but affects our U.S. Navy Seals, border patrol agents and it affects our local economies as well," said Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey.
Bailey says this new $310 million emergency request to Congress would be on top of the $300 million Congress allocated in 2020. That money was supposed to be used to upgrade the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. However local leaders recently learned there's a backlog of work needed before expansion can happen.
"It wasn't revealed until a few months ago that there's extreme deferred maintenance and rehabilitation costs. The plant is in a complete state of disrepair and now they need almost $150 million just to fix it," said Paloma Aguirre, the mayor of Imperial Beach.
Aguirre says the estimated cost to complete the deferred maintenance and upgrade the plant is likely close to $1.5 billion dollars. The president's $310 million emergency request is only a step and Congress still needs to approve it.
"It's incumbent around all of us to advocate and raise our voices to not only get this passed through Congress but get President Biden to declare a state of emergency," she said.
She says funding is especially important as we approach the winter months and see more rain that increases sewage spills.
