SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — One year after taking office, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will return to San Diego County Thursday to continue addressing the decades-old Tijuana sewage crisis that has plagued the South Bay community.
Since being sworn in as the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on January 29, 2025, Zeldin has made the cross-border sewage issue a priority, promising to deliver a "100% solution" to the problem that has impacted Imperial Beach and surrounding areas for years.
Timeline of progress under Zeldin's leadership
ABC 10News was there when Zeldin made his first visit to the South Bay on April 22, 2025, where he emphasized the urgency of finding a permanent solution.
"We're coming here with an incredible sense of urgency to have a solution that can be executed to permanently end this," Zeldin said during that visit.
During the same trip, Zeldin met with his Mexican counterparts to discuss cross-border cooperation. Roughly 90 days later, he traveled to Mexico City to sign a memorandum of understanding — a landmark agreement designed to set the foundation for future improvements.
"Follow through needs to be total, it needs to be fast, it needs to be urgent. It needs to be with unlimited dedication and passion," Zeldin said.
In November, the EPA released its first quarterly update, including a list of completed work and projects still in the pipeline. This was followed by the signing of Minute 333 in December — another agreement with Mexico that solidifies research, monitoring, maintenance, and planning at critical sites while accounting for continued population growth in Tijuana.
Residents see mixed results
While the agreements look promising on paper, Imperial Beach residents have mixed feelings about the progress made so far.
Marvel Harrison, who has lived in Imperial Beach for 6 years, acknowledges some improvements have been made.
"We're now getting some fixes done with the IBWC (International Boundary and Water Commission) that weren't being done. They, they went for several years with no repairs, and it was a total devastation. And now those repairs, things are moving in place," Harrison said.
However, she believes the progress has been slow.
"The smell itself has been at really stench levels recently, but not as consistently," Harrison said.
According to the county's sewage crisis environmental dashboard, there have been 80 air quality complaints in the last two weeks alone. Warning signs remain scattered across the South Bay shoreline, indicating the work is far from complete.
When asked about Zeldin's promise of 100% cleanup, Harrison estimated the current progress at just 10%.
"Let's fix this damn thing. Let's find the resources. Let's have the political will to actually totally clean it up because we can do this," Harrison said.
Upcoming visit
During his Thursday visit to San Diego County, Zeldin will meet with small business owners and elected officials impacted by the crisis as he continues efforts to address the long-standing environmental issue.
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