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The U.S. and Mexico are 1 measurement person to permanently ending a sewage situation spewing from crossed the borderline into waters disconnected the seashore of San Diego, Environmental Protection Agency main Lee Zeldin announced.
"This week, EPA transmitted to Mexico a projected ‘100% solution’ that would PERMANENTLY END the decades-old situation of earthy sewage flowing successful to the U.S. from Mexico. Next, method groups from some nations volition beryllium gathering to enactment done the details indispensable to hopefully scope an urgent agreement," Zeldin posted to X connected Friday.
Zeldin visited San Diego past month, wherever helium announced talks with his authorities counterparts successful Mexico to extremity the decades-long issue. The problem, blamed connected outdated wastewater infrastructure, has persisted for decades, but has spiraled successful caller years arsenic Tijuana's colonisation skyrocketed.
The sewage h2o has not lone threatened San Diego's monolithic tourism manufacture and section residents, but besides poses a nationalist information hazard arsenic it pollutes the waters wherever U.S. Navy SEAL members and candidates train, Fox Digital antecedently reported.
The U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command is headquartered successful San Diego and is wherever Navy SEAL candidates implicit their arduous six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) grooming astatine the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
In February, the Department of Defense's inspector wide released a study uncovering that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates betwixt January 2019 and May 2023 that were attributed to the contaminated water.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a gathering with President Donald Trump successful the Oval Office of the White House connected March 13, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Veterans who spoke to Fox News Digital successful April described the contaminated h2o arsenic a nationalist information crisis.
"This is simply a immense nationalist crisis," Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum, who was sickened by the h2o erstwhile helium was moving done SEAL grooming successful 2008, told Fox Digital successful a Zoom interrogation past month. "Like fractional the SEAL teams are located successful San Diego; the different fractional are successful Virginia Beach. So erstwhile you've got fractional the SEAL teams who are getting exposed to this, past it's a large issue."
EPA CHIEF TAKES ON MEXICAN 'SEWAGE CRISIS' FLOWING INTO US WATERS WHERE NAVY SEALS TRAIN
Zeldin said past period that helium and his counterparts successful Mexico had launched good-faith talks to update infrastructure and h2o absorption facilities, adding that helium zeroed successful connected the "specifics," including drafting a "comprehensive database of everything that we judge with afloat assurance is going to extremity the crisis" connected some the U.S. broadside of the borderline and Mexico's.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a briefing. (Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/LightRocket)
"Now, if you don't bash each of the different projects and each you bash is cleanable up the existent contamination, that feel-good infinitesimal volition past astir a day," Zeldin said during a property league successful San Diego past month. "We person to halt the travel in. Mexico needs to fulfill its portion successful cleaning up the contamination that they caused."
Aerial presumption of sewage h2o spilling into Playa Blanca formation successful the seashore of Tijuana, Mexico connected March 21, 2024. (Getty Images)
Zeldin archetypal addressed the sewage occupation successful March earlier previewing the travel to instrumentality connected the issue.
"I was conscionable briefed that Mexico is dumping ample amounts of earthy sewage into the Tijuana River, and it’s present seeping into the U.S.," helium posted to X connected March 8. "This is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to power this contamination and sewage!"
Local leaders person been sounding the alarm connected the sewage problem. Imperial Beach's Mayor Paloma Aguirre sent a missive to Zeldin successful March describing however the earthy sewage has sparked 1 of "America’s astir horrendous biology and nationalist wellness disasters," arsenic billions of gallons person polluted the Pacific Ocean since 2023 alone.
MEXICAN SEWAGE GUSHING INTO NAVY SEAL TRAINING WATERS IS US' 'NEXT CAMP LEJEUNE,' VETS WARN
Aerial presumption of Tijuana, Mexico, top, and San Diego, California (Getty Images)
"The toxic sewage coming crossed the borderline from Mexico into South San Diego County is among America’s astir horrendous biology and nationalist wellness disasters," Aguirre's March 3 missive to Zeldin, published online, reads. "Since 2023, implicit 31 cardinal gallons of earthy sewage, polluted stormwater and trash person flowed crossed the Mexican border, down the Tijuana River, done the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach and into the Pacific Ocean."
"Our residents, are getting sick owed to polluted air," the missive continued. "Workers, including Navy Seals grooming successful the area, person been sickened connected the occupation by waterborne and aerosolized diseases. Many homeowners person been forced to spot aerial prime monitors connected their spot truthful they cognize whether oregon not it's harmless to spell outside. And the economical interaction is profound, with the sewage situation hurting country tourism, maritime manufacture jobs and section spot values."
San Diego is 1 of the nation's apical cities for tourism – down different nationalist treasures specified arsenic New York City, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. – attracting astir 32 cardinal tourists to the metropolis successful 2024, the San Diego Tourism Authority antecedently reported.
SAN DIEGO SUBURB FACES 'SEWAGE CRISIS' FROM LOCAL BEACH
During his sojourn to San Diego past month, Zeldin vowed to bring an extremity to the contented arsenic Californians tally retired of patience with the crisis.
A SEAL people participates successful a surf transition grooming workout astatine Naval Amphibious Base Coronado successful Coronado, California. (Getty Images)
"The Americans connected our broadside of the borderline who person been dealing with this… for decades, are retired of patience," Zeldin said astatine a Tuesday property league successful San Diego. "There's nary mode that we are going to basal earlier the radical of California and inquire them to person much patience and conscionable carnivore with each of america arsenic we spell done the adjacent 10 oregon 20 oregon 30 years of being stuck successful 12 feet of earthy sewage and not getting anywhere."
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"So we are each retired of patience," helium continued. "There's a precise constricted opportunity. We're successful bully faith, some connected the American broadside and besides connected the Mexican side, what's being communicated by the caller Mexican president is an aggravated tendency to afloat resoluteness this situation."
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