The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission are seeking public input on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
The statement is for a series of projects being considered that comprise the Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for mitigating transborder water pollution, according to a June 17 news release. Pushing for all the comment to come before Aug. 1, EPA and USIBWC are also planning public information sessions to discuss the projects and public meetings to accept comments.
“The border communities share one watershed, and the solutions to reducing pollution in our shared environment require binational collaboration across all levels of government,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in the release. “EPA has worked closely with the USIBWC, a wide range of stakeholders and the public to achieve today’s milestone, which demonstrates tangible progress toward reducing pollution flows. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and hearing directly from the communities across the watershed.”
The Tijuana River transports treated and untreated wastewater, trash and sediment from Mexico into the U.S., the release reported. Additionally, polluted discharge into the Pacific Ocean from Tijuana’s San Antonio de Los Buenos wastewater treatment plant freely flows north by ocean currents in summer, impacting beaches in southern San Diego County.
“We look forward to working with stakeholders and EPA to address the sanitation problem at San Diego-Tijuana,” U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission Commissioner Dr. Maria-Elena Giner said in the release. “I especially value the input of local community members who have firsthand experience with the region's wastewater challenges.”
According to the release, EPA and USIBWC have established a 45-day public comment period for the statement draft, and the two will host a virtual public information session the last week of June to share details.
Two-hour virtual public meetings will be held July 19 and 20 to solicit input on the draft, the release reported.
