The California State Assembly denied a hearing for Senate Bill 10, a bill that would use toll road revenues to help combat the Tijuana River pollution crisis.
The bill, SB 10, would use funds from tolls collected at the proposed East Otay Mesa toll facility to address water and air pollution. Additionally, the funds would help offset the financial obligations of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The plant treats up to 25 million gallons of wastewater a day from the Tijuana River, but critics argue that the capacity falls far short of the need. The plant is currently undergoing a fast-tracked expansion.
SB 10 was introduced in December and passed the Senate floor on June 3, with a vote of 29-10. It then moved to the Assembly, where it failed to gain momentum. The original hearing date was postponed.
State Sen. Steve Padilla, who introduced the bill, was not pleased with the decision. Padilla has been fighting the Tijuana River sewage crisis since he took office in 2022. He introduced another bill regarding landfill dumping in the Tijuana River Valley in 2024.
Similarly, the bill passed the Senate floor, but after several committee referrals, the legislation failed at the Assembly.
“Since being elected to the Senate, addressing these issues have been my highest priority. I am deeply disappointed my colleagues in the Assembly chose to deny San Diego families a chance to finally have some solutions to this decades-long crisis,” Padilla said in a statement.
Padilla also said additional education would be needed to explain the impacts of the river on nearby communities. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control released a survey of how people near the border felt about impacts from the Tijuana River.
More than 90% of survey participants said they were concerned about air quality, beach water quality and the river quality because of the sewage crisis.
While SB 10 was denied its hearing, the Tijuana River pollution crisis is also being fought on the federal level. Bicameral legislation was introduced just last week that would place the Environmental Protection Agency in charge of mitigation efforts in hopes of streamlining the process.
“I will never stop fighting for the environmental justice San Diegans deserve,” Padilla said in the meantime.
