Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that declaring the Tijuana River cross-border sewage crisis an emergency would “have been just a statement backed up by nothing” to address the longstanding problem.
“It would have meant nothing,” he said when asked why he has repeatedly rejected calls from local and state officials.
“What some were calling for on this would not have availed us to any real benefit except symbolism and then ultimately frustration that it didn’t mean anything,” he said while at a news conference in Otay Mesa East about a forthcoming border crossing expected to make billions in toll revenue.
Newsom’s comments mark what many believe is the first time he has publicly explained his refusal to proclaim an emergency declaration.
His administration has made the case that the sewage crisis does not qualify as an emergency under state statute. In an October 2023 letter to the state Coastal Commission, David Sapp, Newsom’s legal affairs secretary, said the issue was a jurisdictional one because it’s the federal government that owns the wastewater plant – currently undergoing repairs and an expansion – that has allowed Tijuana sewage to foul south San Diego shorelines.
A state proclamation of emergency, Sapp added, “cannot accelerate federal work needed on this federal facility that is in a federally controlled area on an international border.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, whose coastal community is among the most affected by the cross-border pollution, challenged the governor’s remarks. She has spearheaded numerous calls to have Newsom and President Joe Biden issue emergency declarations.
In a statement following the news conference, Aguirre said such a proclamation would “mean a lot to the families with young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised who are suffering from the effects of the high levels of pollution in the air. It would also mean a lot to the business owners who are affected by this crisis.”
She added that a declaration would bring more resources from the California Department of Public Health and the state Environmental Protection Agency to address the public and environmental health impacts on South County residents.
Newsom said his administration has successfully lobbied the federal government for millions of dollars to fix and expand wastewater infrastructure at the border. He said San Diego congressional leaders continue to push for additional federal funding.
“What has meant something is action by your congressional representatives, (Sen. Steve Padilla), and others and the White House, who has been directly engaged,” he said. To date, officials have secured $400 million in federal money for the treatment plant and are urging Congress to provide an additional $310 million, which would complete funding needed to expand the plant.
The state, he added, has also invested money toward the issue. For example, California allocated more than $10 million for sediment and trash boom projects in the Tijuana River Valley. Most recently, the California Air Resources Board has committed to reimbursing nearly $3 million to the San Diego Air Pollution Control District to buy and distribute air purifiers for affected communities.
Aguirre argued that all of the funding for treatment plants that Newsom mentioned will not bring communities true relief because a river diversion project has yet to be funded.
Newsom’s visit to the border comes after taking his first tours in October of ailing wastewater treatment plants in the Tijuana River Valley and Baja California as they undergo repairs.
