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$630 million to address environmental and health crisis at the US-Mexico border

An intractable pollution crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border in the Tijuana River Valley was worsening for decades. Failed and ill-equipped sewage treatment infrastructure on the Mexico side of the border was letting billions of gallons of raw, untreated sewage flow into the U.S., rendering beaches unswimmable as far north as San Diego, threatening public health, and harming estuarine ecosystems. US Navy SEALS were getting sick at their training facility in Coronado. Local economies reliant upon beach tourism struggled.

So, in 2018, the Cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, along with the Port of San Diego, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Section of the International Boundary Waters Commission (USIBWC), a federal entity operating in partnership with the Mexican government. With Sher Edling as outside counsel, the plaintiffs deployed a novel theory to allege violations of the Clean Water Act to force the government’s hand.

More lawsuits soon followed, filed by the City of San Diego, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, California State Lands Commission, and Surfrider Foundation. USIBWC was the defendant in all the lawsuits.

As Sher Edling pushed the litigation forward, the plaintiffs formed a coalition to keep the urgency of the crisis in front of federal lawmakers, regulators, and courts, and to point toward the best solutions for addressing the crisis.

The combination of aggressive litigation and regional coordination worked:

  • January 2020: Congress enacts the new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), appropriating $300 million towards solutions in the Tijuana River Valley.
  • November 2021: The Environmental Protection Agency announced a $630 million plan to pursue a comprehensive infrastructure solution.
  • April 2022: All plaintiffs mentioned above announce settlement with USIBWC, which commits to specific projects using the first tranche of $300 million secured through the USMCA. If USIBWC violates terms of the settlement at any time, plaintiffs can revive their lawsuits, or file new ones.
  • August 2022: US and Mexico announce IBWC Minute No. 328, “Sanitation Infrastructure Projects in San Diego, California – Tijuana, Baja California for Immediate Implementation and for Future Development,” committing an additional $330 million for sanitation projects.

(City of Imperial Beach et al. v. USIBWC, et al., No. 3:18-cv-00457-JM-JLB)

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