Trump EPA slashes 12 years off sewage cleanup crisis that has rocked California for decades
The Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday that it has shaved off additional months from construction efforts to resolve a chronic sewage crisis seeping into the San Diego...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday that it has shaved off additional months from construction efforts to resolve a chronic sewage crisis seeping into the San Diego area from Mexico. "The Trump Administration is doing everything in its power to urgently and permanently deliver the 100% solution to the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis that the residents of Southern California have demanded for decades," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Thursday in a press release provided to Fox News Digital. Sewage has been flowing into San Diego from across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, going back decades. The situation has been described as a crisis by local leaders and residents, as the sewage impacts the city's tourism and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, where Navy SEALs train. SEALs, who are required to spend hours in the ocean as part of their training, have reported serious illnesses from the contaminated water, including acute gastrointestinal illnesses. MEXICO TO DUMP MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF SEWAGE INTO TIJUANA RIVER, US CONTINUES TO BE A DUMPING GROUND: OFFICIAL The crisis is blamed on outdated wastewater infrastructure that was strained by the skyrocketing population in Tijuana, Mexico, which has increased by approximately 188% from 1990 to 2025 alone, according to figures compiled by the Mexican government and local universities. The EPA announced Thursday that it completed a 100-day review of all projects associated with correcting the sewage crisis and wastewater infrastructure along the border, and found it had shaved the timeline of completion for two other projects by another nine months, meaning roughly 12 years in total construction time was cut from the project. "Important new progress to report on the efforts to implement a permanent, 100% solution to end the decades long Tijuana River Sewage Crisis: Today, EPA is announcing a nine month total reduction in the timelines for two additional key projects on the Mexico si…