[TimesOfSanDiego] Four of San Diego’s five members of Congress introduced a package of legislation Monday designed to stop pollution from the Tijuana River from reaching San Diego.
Reps. Juan Vargas, Susan Davis, Scott Peters and Mike Levin announced their Tijuana River Valley Pollution Solution package at a press conference in Chula Vista.
"We have an environmental crisis in San Diego. For years, the cross-border flows of wastewater, trash, and sediment coming from the Tijuana River have plagued our region, disrupting the lives of residents, service members, and visitors," said Vargas, who represents the border area in Congress."
The package of three bills, each introduced by different members, would increase the capital of the North American Development Bank by $1.5 billion to fund treatment projects, enlist the help of the Navy and improve coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Davis noted that the the Navy is building a multi-billion dollar SEAL training facility just miles from the mouth of the Tijuana River and must take steps to make sure future spills don’t impact operations.
"Today, we are taking a comprehensive approach to address the crisis," said Peters. "We must prioritize funding for projects that specifically address water pollution, wastewater treatment, and water conservation to reduce the risk of sewage flows."
Pollution from Mexico via the Tijuana River has caused numerous beach closures from Imperial Beach to Coronado and disrupted Navy exercises.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, who represents rural East County, was not involved in drafting the legislation introduced Monday.
A bunch of donk congress critters want to spend $1.5 billion to fix a problem that Mexico should have fixed decades ago. It should be easy. Tell the Mexican president there will be no more foreign aid from the United States until this problem is fixed, and if that doesn't work then threaten more tariffs. But I guess with donks, nothing is ever easy. 
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