Trump EPA chief to 'confront crisis' of Mexican sewage polluting San Diego area beaches

Trump EPA chief Lee Zeldin plans to visit the San Diego-Mexico border "in the near future" to assess the escalating toxic waste and sewage runoff from the Tijuana River, which has led to over 1,000 beach closures at Imperial Beach and caused health issues among Navy SEAL trainees.

"Mexico must fully honor its commitment to control their country’s growing pollution and sewage impacting the United States," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The time when excuses, delays or exceptions are tolerated is over."

Zeldin said his agency will "ramp up" efforts with local agencies in Southern California and Mexico "to confront this crisis head on." 

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"I look forward to visiting the border in the near future to view this issue firsthand, meet with elected officials and ensure permanent solutions are urgently implemented to stop years of Mexican sewage impacting the U.S.," Zeldin said.

The longstanding issue of untreated sewage flowing from Tijuana, Mexico, into San Diego's beaches was exacerbated earlier this year, when, in January, the Hollister Wastewater Pump Station, which transfers sewage from Tijuana to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, malfunctioned and spilled approximately 30,000 gallons of sewage into the river.

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Millions of federal dollars have been proposed – with support from the previous Biden administration – for repairs and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. But Republicans, including President Donald Trump, are mostly opposed to it, citing it as another example of wasteful government spending.

An EPA official told Fox News Digital "the issue remains that Mexico should be treating their own waste."

"Mexico needs to build and properly operate the infrastructure necessary to treat all the sewage generated by Tijuana," the spokesperson said. "Current projects are not adequate and will still allow significant untreated sewage to be discharged into the ocean, impacting the U.S. Mexico should be paying for their own wastewater collection, not U.S. taxpayer dollars."

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond called it "one of the biggest environmental and public health crises" in a post on X last week.

"This isn’t just a nuisance — it’s a danger. Our Navy SEALs train just north of this toxic mess," Desmond wrote. "Local families are exposed to contaminated water. Tourism suffers. And, yet, the State of California continues to look the other way. Many politicians have made promises — but delivered nothing. That ends now."

Last month, the Department of Defense's Inspector General published a report show 76% of its tests showed bacteria surpassing normal safety levels and over 1,100 cases of health issues, primarily gastrointestinal illnesses among SEALs, were reported after they trained in the toxic water. 

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom's office told Fox News Digital "this is not a new issue for the state" or the administration and that California has been "focused on resolving this for years, including with help from the previous federal administration and Congress."

"We welcome collaboration with the Trump Administration to continue efforts to clean up the Tijuana River," the spokesperson said.