Southern California representatives call for federal state of emergency amid transboundary pollution crisis

U.S. House representatives from Southern California on Monday called for a federal state of emergency declaration, with hopes of bringing urgent relief to a region coping with toxic, transboundary air pollution.

Democratic Reps. Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Scott Peters pressed for urgent action "in light of new findings that alarming levels of noxious gas are emanating from the Tijuana River" in a letter sent Monday to President Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). 

"Recent data has made it clear that these fumes are causing an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of residents of South San Diego, and our community needs additional support,” the lawmakers wrote.

The representatives were referring to an unrelenting crisis impacting the city of Imperial Beach and its neighbors, which have for years been the cross-border recipients of wastewater laced with chemicals and pathogens. This unfettered flow, which results from insufficient treatment in Mexico, ends up in California via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River Watershed.

Not only has the flow caused widespread water contamination and long-term beach closures, it has also resulted in an airborne public health threat. Just last week, researchers studying such impacts had to abandon their work due to "concerningly high" levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

In a Sunday letter, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and fellow signatories — local politicians, citizens, health professionals, academics and environmental activists — called upon regional and state agencies to distribute both KN-95 masks and air purifiers to all affected areas.

The congressional representatives likewise stressed the need for air purifiers and testing equipment, describing the circumstances as an "ongoing environmental disaster" that "warrants the same sense of urgency and immediate attention as any other natural or environmental disaster."

"Left unaddressed, a pollution crisis of this scale will continue to endanger our communities," they added.