AGENDA
ITEM
15 AGENDA
CALEXICO California ITEM
WHERE CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO MEET
15 CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA STAFF REPORT
DATE: November 05, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
APPROVED BY: Benjamin Martinez, City Manager 12
PREPARED BY: Benjamin Martinez, City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt Resolution No. 2025-_ Requesting Equitable Allocation of Proposition 4 Funding for New River Environmental and Public Health Projects. ----A:
Recommendation:
Adopt Resolution No. 2025-_ Requesting Equitable Allocation of Proposition 4 Funding for New River Environmental and Public Health Projects.
Background:
The 2024 Proposition 4 Climate Bond (Prop 4) dedicates $10 billion to support a wide range of projects aimed at strengthening California's climate resilience and protecting its natural resources. This major investment reflects the state's ongoing commitment to addressing climate change through targeted, practical strategies that improve community readiness, safeguard ecosystems, and promote long-term environmental sustainability. By directing funds toward key areas such as water security, wildfire prevention, and pollution control, Prop 4 positions California as a leader in implementing comprehensive climate action initiatives.
Currently, several California agencies have opened or are preparing to open grant opportunities tied to Prop 4, offering a crucial moment for local governments, organizations, and communities to align their projects with statewide climate goals. Among its allocations, the "Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024," approved by voters in November 2024, designates $46.15 million for efforts to reduce pollution in cross-border rivers and coastal waters shared with Mexico-specifically the New River and the Tijuana River. The New River, one of the most polluted waterways in the United States, carries untreated sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff from Mexicali, Mexico, into Calexico and Imperial County, underscoring the urgency and importance of these targeted cleanup and mitigation efforts.
Discussion and Analysis:
Imperial County and the Coachella Valley rank among the most underserved and environmentally impacted regions in California. Communities such as Calexico and its surrounding areas are classified
as disadvantaged under both state and federal standards due to high levels of pollution and environmental stressors. Residents face serious public health challenges, including elevated rates of asthma, respiratory illnesses, and exposure to harmful contaminants that pose significant risks to human health and safety. These conditions highlight the urgent need for investment in infrastructure and environmental restoration projects that can improve local living conditions and reduce pollution-related health disparities.
One such initiative is the planned upgrade of the Calexico Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is already "shovel-ready" with approved plans and specifications. Once constructed, these improvements will have an immediate positive impact on the amount and quality of water flowing into the New River, one of the region's most polluted waterways. Beyond improving wastewater treatment efficiency, the project will also benefit the surrounding ecosystem by diluting the amount of contaminated water entering the river from Mexico, thereby enhancing wildlife habitat and promoting healthier vegetation and soil conditions along the river corridor.
The City Manager respectfully requests the City Council to adopt resolution No. 2025- Requesting Equitable Allocation of Proposition 4 Funding for New River Environmental and Public Health Projects.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact concerning the adoption of a resolution ratifying a local emergency.
Coordinated With:
City Manager
Public Works Director/City Engineer
Attachments):
1. Resolution
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CALEXICO
REQUESTING EQUITABLE ALLOCATION OF PROPOSITION 4 FUNDING FOR NEW
RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROJECTS
Resolution No. [####-2025]
WHEREAS, the New River has long been recognized as one of the most polluted waterways in the United States, carrying untreated and partially treated sewage, industrial discharge, gricultural runoff, pathogens, toxic chemicals, and trash originating in Mexicali, Mexico, an owing into the City of Calexico and Imperial County: an WHEREAS, Section 71103.5 of the California Public Resources Code declares that the New River poses an "imminent and severe threat to the public health of residents" and is believed to carry pathogens associated with tuberculosis, encephalitis, polio, cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid, alongside concentrations of other contaminants violating state, federal, and Mexican standards by "several hundredfold"; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature has established the New River Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway Development Program (Public Resources Code §S 71103.5-71103.6), requiring coordinated state support for cleanup, treatment, monitoring, and restoration actions to protect health and improve water quality; and WHEREAS, Proposition 4, the $10 billion "Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024," approved by voters in November 2024, allocates $46,154,000 for projects addressing pollution in California/Mexico cross-border rivers and coastal waters, explicitly including the New River and the Tijuana River; and WHEREAS, Imperial County and Coachella Valley communities are among the most underserved and environmentally burdened in California, with Calexico and surrounding areas designated as disadvantaged communities under state and federal criteria, and experiencing public health impacts including asthma, respiratory illness, and adverse environmental exposure risks leading to a severe threat of health and human safety; and WHEREAS, the New River is a major contributor of contaminated inflow to the Salton Sea, a state and federal environmental priority, and failure to address water quality in the New River undermines state-mandated Salton Sea restoration and public health goals; and WHEREAS, Imperial County and Coachella Valley residents have endured decades of harm from cross-border pollution, and ensuring equitable allocation of state funding is essential to upholding California's commitments to environmental justice and equity; and WHEREAS, San Diego County has adopted a resolution advocating that the State Water Resources Control Board allocate the full amount of Proposition 4 cross-border funding for Tijuana River Valley projects; and
WHEREAS, San Diego County's advocacy reflects a real public health crisis, equity, statutory language, and statewide responsibility require that Imperial County receive its fair allocation of Proposition 4 funds to address the longstanding and severe New River public health crisis; and
WHEREAS, the Calexico Wastewater Treatment Plant is "shovel-ready" with approved plans and specifications to construct improvements that will provide immediate benefits to the quality of New River water; and
WHEREAS, improving Calexico's Wastewater Treatment Plant, by nature, will also enhance wildlife habitat located along the New River due to vegetation and soils being exposed to significantly less polluted water as a result of the Project; and WHEREAS, the existing continuity and collaboration between Calexico and Mexicali, specifically with the Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Mexicali and the Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas, is in effective relationship that will continue to provide mutual benefits on both sides of the border such as the recently completed "New River Improvement Project"; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby requests equitable allocation of Proposition 4 cross-border river funding for New River water quality, public health, and river improvement projects; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board directs the County Executive Officer to transmit this Resolution to relevant state and federal partners, including, but not limited to, the Governor, California State Legislature, and SWRCB.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Imperial on the _ day of - 2025.