City of Coronado
Office of the Mayor
RICHARD BAILEY
1825 STRAND WAY · CORONADO, CA 92118 · TEL (619) 522 -7320 · [email protected]. US June 4, 2024
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
RE: Please Support New Authorization for Tijuana River Valley Watershed Environmental Infrastructure in the 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell:
On behalf of the City of Coronado, I am writing to express my support for the new Environmental Infrastructure authorization in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for the Tijuana River Valley Watershed, championed by Senator Alex Padilla. Once enacted, this language will authorize $10 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to leverage their expertise to address the ongoing Tijuana River pollution issues.
The City of Coronado urges your support for this authorization as it is a necessary step to continue addressing the sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Watershed.
As you may know, the millions of gallons of contaminated water flowing across the U.S. – Mexico border every day from the Tijuana River into the Pacific Ocean have resulted in beach closures, public health concerns, environmental damage, and financial struggles for local businesses in the City of Coronado and other nearby cities. Furthermore, it has caused health issues for Navy SEALs training in these waters and Homeland Security-Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers, which disrupts our national security and military readiness. Your support of this authorization will contribute to achieving a lasting solution to the decades-long issue of untreated sewage and waste flow affecting the Tijuana River Valley and San Diego region.
This authorization will leverage the environmental infrastructure and ecosystem knowledge, expertise, and experience of the Army Corps of Engineers to mitigate, respond, and control the pollution in the Tijuana watershed. We look forward to further collaboration with you and your staff to see this language enacted into law, and continued efforts to support vital infrastructure projects aimed at confronting cross-border pollution.
Item 12a.
Sincerely,
Richard Bailey
Mayor
CC: Coronado City Council
Item 12a.