Border sewage project approved                

Coastal Commission Ok's treatment plan

By Terry Rodgers
STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2005

Plans by the federal government to expand and upgrade sewage treatment along the U.S.-Mexico border were approved yesterday by the California Coastal Commission.

The International Boundary and Water Commission plans to contract with a private company to build a sewage treatment plant near Tijuana that would discharge treated wastewater through an existing outfall on the U.S. side of the border.

The Coastal Commission’s permission was needed to increase the discharge through the South Bay outfall pipe to 59 million gallons per day from the current 25 million gallons per day.

The existing sewer plant operated by the IBWC on 75 acres in the Tijuana River Valley treats sewage from the river to the advanced primary level but not the cleaner level required by state and federal law. Tests show the effluent violates state standards and is toxic to marine life.

In addition, the plant built in 1997 proved to be too small to handle the flow of pollution from Mexico during moderate to major storms.

Under a court settlement forced by a state lawsuit, the IBWC must achieve compliance with state pollution regulations by Sept. 30, 2008.

To fix the deficiency, the IBWC has proposed sending the primary-treated sewage to the proposed secondary treatment plant in Mexico, which also would have excess capacity to treat sewage from Tijuana.

The two treatment plants would work in tandem to prevent raw sewage from contaminating the Tijuana River, which flows across the border and pollutes the coastline near Imperial Beach.

The project approved by the Coastal Commission calls for construction of a pump station and pipelines along the border that will allow the IBWC to transfer sewage between the two treatment plants.

“The Coastal Commission’s decision shows there is continuing progress to help resolve this decade long problem,” said Craig Benedetto, a spokesman for Bajagua Project LLC. The San Diego-based company funded by American and Mexican investors has spent $20 million over the past decade to convince authorities that its plan for a public-private sewage treatment plant in Tijuana is the best solution.

Bajagua hopes to win the IBWC contract to build the treatment plant and make a profit by selling reclaimed water to businesses along the border. The company’s proposal was named the “preferred alternative” in a recently published environmental report.

“Sewage coming across the border is a hazard to the environment and the public’s health,” Benedetto said. “Upgrading treatment to secondary standards is important”

Terry Rodgers:
(619) 542-4566; terry.rodcierscuniontrib.com