SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited the South Bay area Tuesday to personally assess the sewage crisis that has plagued the region for decades.
Zeldin, accompanied by a bipartisan congressional delegation and local leaders, toured the International Wastewater Treatment Plant and several other sites to witness firsthand the environmental disaster that continues to impact communities along the border.
"We're coming here with an incredible sense of urgency to have a solution that can be executed to permanently end this," said Zeldin.
ABC 10News reporter Laura Acevedo has personally visited the Tijuana River and seen the impact this crisis is having on nearby residents. Tuesday, Zeldin got to experience the same conditions, touring four locations where he could see and smell the problem directly.
The tour concluded at the Tijuana River, where Zeldin spoke exclusively with ABC 10News.
WATCH: Acevedo asks Zeldin how the EPA will respond if Mexico doesn't agree to the plan, and what the long-term, concrete solutions are for the crisis
"I have a commitment as EPA administrator that I am never going to mislead or deceive the public on something that is as important as this," said Zeldin.
Zeldin said he had met with his Mexican counterparts the previous night for about 90 minutes, describing the meeting as both productive and collaborative.
"We went through a long list of specifics. The follow-up is going to be incredibly important to act with urgency, to instantly be getting on the same page on timelines on everything, and making sure that the timeline for everything is pressure-tested to make sure that it's getting done as quickly as possible," said Zeldin.
Following the site tours, Zeldin and officials held a private roundtable discussion before addressing the press.
"Over the course of the next 24 hours, we will develop one comprehensive list of everything that we believe with full confidence is going to end the crisis," said Zeldin during the press conference.
When asked what would happen if Mexico doesn't agree to the proposed solutions, Zeldin emphasized that Mexican officials had expressed full commitment to resolving the issue on behalf of Mexico's incoming president.
"And I say this with all due respect, but to understand what's going on inside of the American, who just cares about just having it resolved, they don't give a s**t how it gets done, as long as this crisis is over," said Zeldin.
After the press conference, Zeldin took a helicopter tour of the Tijuana River Valley and planned to meet with Navy SEALs.
While Zeldin stated that Mexico will either accept or reject the list of solutions presented by the U.S., no concrete timeline has been established for when residents can expect a resolution to this long-standing environmental crisis.
Below, you'll find ABC 10News' story previewing the Zeldin visit.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency will be in San Diego on Tuesday to get a firsthand, up-close look at the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's visit will include a tour of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and a helicopter tour of the border.
WATCH REPLAY: Zeldin holds a press conference on the Tijuana sewage crisis following the tour
ABC 10News has covered the crisis for years, including its impact on South Bay families' health. Earlier Monday, 10News anchor Melissa Mecija sat down with Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre to find out what she hopes comes out of Zeldin's visit.
"Our hope is that he listens to the illnesses and ailments that the people are suffering, but also that they don't cut additional funding," Aguirre says. "The House, which is Republican led... has already made cuts from $178 million to $70 million... We cannot afford any further cuts. We need to make sure that both treatment plans continue to be fixed, and we need additional resources, and we need our federal government, as well as the Mexican government, to step up and do more, because what's being done now is not enough."
Flying now to San Diego to meet this evening with my counterpart, Secretary Alicia Bárcena, about ENDING decades of raw sewage entering the US from Mexico.
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) April 21, 2025
10News reporter Laura Acevedo will be covering Zeldin's visit on Tuesday. Acevedo has also covered the sewage crisis, as well as its impact on South Bay communities, for years.
A couple of the questions we're asking include:
- What is the long-term, concrete solution to solving this problem?
- What's your response and answer to the families facing health consequences due to the sewage crisis?
Do you have a question for the head of the EPA regarding how they plan to handle the sewage crisis? Comment on the video below on our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube pages, and Acevedo may relay the message.
