1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Dear Lee Zeldin and EPA, We are failing your “stress test” every single day—and we will continue to unless immediate action is taken. We urge you to pause and re-examine the Biden Administration’s USMCA Comprehensive Plan. Meant to solve the cross-border sewage crisis, it has instead worsened it—especially for the people of South Bay San Diego. These current policies fail to deliver a 100% solution. In 2019, the Trump Administration—alongside Arcadis, a globally respected engineering firm—developed a plan to reduce beach closures to under 30 days per year. It was fully funded by Congress and agreed upon by Mexico. Rather than implementing that proven solution, the Biden Administration abandoned it in favor of California’s SB507 Needs and Assessment, later absorbed into the USMCA Plan. Since then, the crisis has worsened. A clear example: Instead of diverting 60 million gallons per day of sewage 10 miles south of Imperial Beach, the new plan dumps it just 3 miles offshore, where it flows directly to our beaches. Even more alarming, the Environmental Impact Statement confirms the intentional demolition of Mexican sewage lift stations—allowing unchecked sewage to flow freely into the United States for years to come. Why would we allow this? Why replace functional infrastructure with a plan that fails across the board—from sludge buildup and dying habitats to toxic discharges, ineffective diversions, and outdated testing? This is not a solution. It’s a public health failure. We need leadership that prioritizes science-based strategies, functional infrastructure, and long-term protection for U.S. communities.