A settlement reached in a series of lawsuits that alleged the Trump administration unlawfully diverted taxpayer money to build a wall along the southern border will provide funding towards the remediation of more than 1,200 acres of land in southern San Diego County, it was announced Monday.
The settlement brought by a coalition of 18 states, including California, seeks to redress environmental impacts caused by the construction of the proposed border wall, which was planned to span hundreds of miles through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Funds that were initially intended for military construction projects were diverted to the border wall’s construction, but will be redirected to their original projects, according to the settlement agreement.
Other funds will go towards projects that mitigate impacts the wall’s construction may have had on habitats and wildlife.
In San Diego County, the settlement provides $25 million towards the Otay Ranch Village 14 property.
According to the settlement, the $25 million will either help an environmental nonprofit purchase the property or be used to fund environmental mitigation projects in the area.
The property is valued at around $60 million and the nonprofit would secure the remaining $35 million from other sources, according to a statement from California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.
If the remaining funding for a purchase cannot be secured, the $25 million will go towards environmental projects aimed at offsetting or mitigating the impacts of border barrier construction, including potential land acquisitions for conservation purposes in the Proctor Valley/Lower Otay Lakes area.
“The Trump Border Wall is officially a relic of the past, which is where it belongs,” said Bonta. “With environmental mitigation projects coming online to protect our sensitive ecosystem along the U.S.-Mexico border and the confirmation of over $427 million in funding restored for military construction projects, today’s settlement ushers in a new beginning.”
Additional projects funded through the settlement include the installation of wildlife passages for endangered species in the border barrier system, and programs to monitor federally endangered species, including the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, Sonoran Desert Pronghorn, Mexican Gray Wolf, ocelot, and jaguar.