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Southern California officials plead for help as cross-border sewage crisis poisons air

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Monday, September 9, 2024

Southern California's border-adjacent communities are pushing for emergency assistance from regional and state agencies as they contend with a cross-border sewage crisis that is poisoning the air they breathe. The writers, led by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, pushed for immediate action to cope with dangerous air pollution impacting area communities, in a Sunday letter sent to officials from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Imperial Beach and its neighbors have for years struggled with an unrelenting, transboundary sewage situation that results from insufficient wastewater treatment on the Mexican side of the border. That fetid flow ends up in San Diego County both via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River Watershed, contaminated with a noxious mix of chemicals and pathogens. Not only have these contaminants caused widespread water contamination and long-term beach closures, but they have also become an airborne public health threat. Just last week, San Diego State University and University of California San Diego professors studying such impacts had to abandon their research due to "concerningly high" levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Our families, children, seniors and the immunocompromised are constantly at risk, breathing in harmful toxic gases that no one should have to endure," Aguirre said in a Sunday statement. "We are fighting not just for our health but for our right to clean air and a safe environment." "It is unacceptable that the agencies responsible for protecting our communities continue to drag their feet while we bear the brunt of their inaction," she added. The Sunday letter signatories — local politicians, citizens, health professionals, academics and environmental activists — called upon regional and state agencies to distribute KN-95 masks and air purifiers that are effective in removing both particulate matter and gases in all affected areas. The priority, they stressed, should be on immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, families with young children and schools. While Aguirre acknowledged in her Sunday statement that some efforts had been taken — mentioning 400 filters that had been distributed via lottery — she stressed that such action "is not enough." In their letter, Aguirre and her colleagues also requested calibrated particle and gas monitors to determine the safety of outdoor activities across the region, as well as the placement of advisory signs about the risk of exposure to hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and other toxic gases. At the same time, the writers emphasized the need to stop sharing the Air Pollution Control District's sensor data until the instruments are fully calibrated and generating accurate measurements. Without such a step, the equipment could be leading to "potentially erroneous conclusions" and granting "a false sense of security to the community," according to the writers. Likewise, they demanded the suspension of the community's "Syndromic Surveillance Bulletin" — which highlights local health symptoms — until it includes more thorough clinical data from both the South Bay region and from Tijuana. "The urgency of this situation can not be overstated," they concluded. "We ask for immediate intervention and implementation of these requests by the County Office of Emergency Management, Air Pollution Control District, and Health and Human Services." The Hill has reached out to both Air Pollution Control District Chair Jack Shu and the Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas, to whom the letter was addressed, for comment. The Air Pollution Control District's homepage warns that "inspectors have been documenting strong odors impacting South Bay communities," adding that ongoing extreme heat conditions have exacerbated these issues. "Compounds associated with these odors may cause adverse health effects," the message cautions, advising that residents stay indoors when possible. As for the Board of Supervisors, Vargas described current circumstances as "an emergency" in a post on X on Sunday, noting that "our communities are facing the worst environmental and social justice crisis of our time." "I'm continuously working with federal, state and local partners to secure immediate and long-term solutions that protect the health of our families," she added.

The writers, led by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, pushed for immediate action to cope with dangerous air pollution impacting area communities, in a Sunday letter sent to officials from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Imperial Beach and its neighbors have for years struggled with an unrelenting, transboundary sewage situation that results from insufficient wastewater treatment on the Mexican side of the border. That fetid flow ends up in San Diego County both via ocean plumes and the Tijuana River Watershed, contaminated with a noxious mix of chemicals and pathogens.

Not only have these contaminants caused widespread water contamination and long-term beach closures, but they have also become an airborne public health threat.

Just last week, San Diego State University and University of California San Diego professors studying such impacts had to abandon their research due to "concerningly high" levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"Our families, children, seniors and the immunocompromised are constantly at risk, breathing in harmful toxic gases that no one should have to endure," Aguirre said in a Sunday statement. "We are fighting not just for our health but for our right to clean air and a safe environment."

"It is unacceptable that the agencies responsible for protecting our communities continue to drag their feet while we bear the brunt of their inaction," she added.

The Sunday letter signatories — local politicians, citizens, health professionals, academics and environmental activists — called upon regional and state agencies to distribute KN-95 masks and air purifiers that are effective in removing both particulate matter and gases in all affected areas.

The priority, they stressed, should be on immunocompromised individuals, the elderly, families with young children and schools.

While Aguirre acknowledged in her Sunday statement that some efforts had been taken — mentioning 400 filters that had been distributed via lottery — she stressed that such action "is not enough."

In their letter, Aguirre and her colleagues also requested calibrated particle and gas monitors to determine the safety of outdoor activities across the region, as well as the placement of advisory signs about the risk of exposure to hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and other toxic gases.

At the same time, the writers emphasized the need to stop sharing the Air Pollution Control District's sensor data until the instruments are fully calibrated and generating accurate measurements.

Without such a step, the equipment could be leading to "potentially erroneous conclusions" and granting "a false sense of security to the community," according to the writers.

Likewise, they demanded the suspension of the community's "Syndromic Surveillance Bulletin" — which highlights local health symptoms — until it includes more thorough clinical data from both the South Bay region and from Tijuana.

"The urgency of this situation can not be overstated," they concluded. "We ask for immediate intervention and implementation of these requests by the County Office of Emergency Management, Air Pollution Control District, and Health and Human Services."

The Hill has reached out to both Air Pollution Control District Chair Jack Shu and the Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas, to whom the letter was addressed, for comment.

The Air Pollution Control District's homepage warns that "inspectors have been documenting strong odors impacting South Bay communities," adding that ongoing extreme heat conditions have exacerbated these issues.

"Compounds associated with these odors may cause adverse health effects," the message cautions, advising that residents stay indoors when possible.

As for the Board of Supervisors, Vargas described current circumstances as "an emergency" in a post on X on Sunday, noting that "our communities are facing the worst environmental and social justice crisis of our time."

"I'm continuously working with federal, state and local partners to secure immediate and long-term solutions that protect the health of our families," she added.

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of

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In South Korea, Nations Meet in Final Round to Address Global Plastic Crisis

Negotiators are gathering in South Korea in what’s billed as a final push to address the global crisis of plastic pollution

Negotiators gathered in Busan, South Korea, on Monday in a final push to create a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution.It's the fifth time the world's nations convene to craft a legally binding plastic pollution accord. In addition to the national delegations, representatives from the plastics industry, scientists and environmentalists have come to shape how the world tackles the surging problem. “Don’t kick the can, or the plastic bottle, down the road," U.N. Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen said in a message aimed at negotiators. This “is an issue about the intergenerational justice of those generations that will come after us and be living with all this garbage. We can solve this and we must get it done in Busan,” she said in an interview.The previous four global meetings have revealed sharp differences in goals and interests. This week's talks go through Saturday. Led by Norway and Rwanda, 66 countries plus the European Union say they want to address the total amount of plastic on Earth by controlling design, production, consumption and where plastic ends up. The delegation from the hard-hit island nation of Micronesia helped lead an effort to call more attention to "unsustainable” plastic production, called the Bridge to Busan. Island nations are grappling with vast amounts of other countries’ plastic waste washing up on their shores.“We think it’s the heart of the treaty, to go upstream and to get to the problem at its source,” said Dennis Clare, legal advisor and plastics negotiator for Micronesia. “There’s a tagline, ‘You can’t recycle your way out of this problem.’” Some plastic-producing and oil and gas countries, including Saudi Arabia, disagree. They vigorously oppose any limits on plastic manufacturing. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of primary polypropylene, a common type of plastic, accounting for an estimated 17% of exports last year, according to the Plastics Industry Association. China, the United States and Germany led the global plastics trade by exports and imports in 2023, the association said.The plastics industry has been advocating for a treaty focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse, sometimes referred to as “circularity.” Chris Jahn, International Council of Chemical Associations secretariat, said negotiators should focus on ending plastic waste in the environment, not plastic production, to get a deal. Many countries won’t join a treaty if it includes production caps, he said.To continue to progress and grow as a global economy, there are going to be more plastics, Jahn added.“So we should strive then to keep those plastics in the economy and out of the environment,” Jahn said.The United States delegation at first said countries should develop their own plans to act, a position viewed as favoring industry. It changed its position this summer, saying the U.S. is open to considering global targets for reductions in plastic production.Environmental groups accused the U.S. of backtracking as negotiations approached.Center for Coalfield Justice executive director Sarah Martik said the United States is standing on the sidelines rather than leading, putting “their thumb on the scale throughout the entirety of the negotiations.” She hopes this does not derail other countries’ ambition. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, said it's a mistake for the United States to settle for the lowest common denominator proposals, just to get some kind of agreement. Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the committee chair from Ecuador, recently proposed text for sections where he thinks the delegations could agree. The production and use of plastics globally is set to reach 736 million tons by 2040, up 70% from 2020, without policy changes, according to the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Research published in Science this month found it is still possible to nearly end plastic pollution. The policies that make the most difference are: mandating new products be made with 40% post-consumer recycled plastic; limiting new plastic production to 2020 levels; investing significantly in plastic waste management, such as landfills and waste collection services and implementing a small fee on plastic packaging. The treaty is the only way to solve plastic pollution at this scale, said Douglas McCauley, professor at UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley. McCauley co-led the research.Margaret Spring, chief conservation and science officer for Monterey Bay Aquarium, said plastic pollution used to be considered largely a waste problem. Now it is widely viewed as an existential crisis that must be addressed, said Spring, who represents the International Science Council at the negotiations.“I’ve never seen people’s understanding of this issue move as fast, given how complex the topic is,” she said. “It gives me hope that we can actually start moving the dial.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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The Great Mediterranean Drain: How 70% of Its Water Vanished in a Geological Crisis

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ICE Unveils Biogas Plan to Combat Costa Rica’s Growing Waste Management Crisis

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) is taking bold steps to address the country’s mounting landfill crisis with an innovative biogas initiative that could transform waste management across the nation. Turning Waste into Energy: ICE’s Vision for Sustainable Solutions ICE’s executive president, Marco Acuña, revealed plans for a new biogas production strategy that will convert organic waste into renewable energy. The project, aimed at implementation within five to six years, could provide a much-needed solution to Costa Rica’s waste management challenges. The initiative comes at a critical time, as Costa Rica grapples with depleting sanitary landfills and ineffective recycling practices. According to a 2016 Comptroller General report, merely 1% of the country’s waste undergoes recycling, highlighting the urgent need for alternative solutions. ICE’s experience with biogas already shows promise. Their existing facility at La Uruca’s EBI plant successfully generates 140 kilowatts of energy from landfill gas, which is fed directly into the national grid. The new project aims to expand on this success, targeting the 53% of Costa Rica’s waste that consists of organic matter. Acuña also points to additional opportunities, suggesting that non-recyclable waste could serve as industrial fuel, further maximizing resource utilization and supporting sustainable waste management practices. The initiative aligns with the Ministry of Health’s “Waste to Energy” plan, which envisions regional waste-to-energy centers throughout Costa Rica. However, despite ICE initiating an eligibility process for such projects in May last year, no proposals have been submitted, revealing ongoing challenges with municipal engagement and infrastructure development. As the Greater Metropolitan Area faces immediate waste management pressures, authorities emphasize the need for quick action. While ICE’s biogas project offers a promising medium-term solution, immediate steps are crucial to protect public health and prevent environmental degradation. The post ICE Unveils Biogas Plan to Combat Costa Rica’s Growing Waste Management Crisis appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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Why won’t PJM let batteries and clean power bolster a stressed-out grid?

PJM, the largest electric grid operator in the U.S., has a major problem — old, dirty power plants are closing down faster than new clean energy resources can replace them. This mounting grid crisis is already driving up electricity costs for the 65 million people living in PJM’s territory, which stretches from the mid-Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes. By the end of the decade, the situation could become so dire that it threatens the reliability of PJM’s grid. The blame falls in large part on PJM’s worst-in-the-nation grid-interconnection backlog. New energy projects looking to come online in its region face yearslong wait times before they’re even considered. To make matters worse, energy companies and climate advocates say PJM is dragging its feet on one straightforward way to work around this logjam. Existing wind and solar farms and fossil-fired power plants often have more grid capacity than they actually need during many hours of the day or seasons of the year. Developers could add batteries or other new energy capacity next to these power plants and make use of that surplus grid space. It wouldn’t eliminate the trouble altogether, but it would make a serious dent, clean energy developers say. Federal regulators have repeatedly directed grid operators to allow power plant owners to pursue such additions under what’s called “surplus interconnection service” (SIS) rules. But PJM has made it next to impossible for power suppliers to do so, even as most other U.S. grid operators have abided. Critics say PJM’s refusal to follow suit is particularly frustrating: By barring this faster approach, PJM is making its bad grid situation worse. That’s why those critics are asking for federal intervention. This summer, clean energy industry groups and environmental advocates asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the interconnection reform plan submitted by PJM, which was required by last year’s FERC Order 2023. Among their objections to PJM’s plan is its refusal to change the rules it now uses to deny these fast-track additions. In July, renewable energy and battery developer EDP Renewables (EDPR) filed a complaint with FERC asking it to overturn PJM’s denial of its plan to add solar to a wind farm in Indiana. It’s just one of the failed surplus interconnection proposals the developer has brought to the grid operator. Trade groups Advanced Energy United, the American Clean Power Association, and the Solar Energy Industries Association; the environmental group Sierra Club; and fellow clean energy developers Invenergy Solar Development North America and EDF Renewables added their support to EDRP’s complaint. “We go to PJM and say, ‘Look at this amazing deal. We already have the capacity. Our transmission system is underutilized during the periods we need it. Let’s connect this,’” David Mindham, EDPR’s director of regulatory and market affairs, said during a September webinar. “And they say no.” Getting more round-the-clock use out of the grid Mindham’s comments came during a presentation of a report from Gabel Associates, commissioned by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and other clean energy industry groups, detailing the potential for using this technique to help PJM meet its growing shortage of electricity generation. The focus of the presentation was on surplus interconnection service, the technical term for what is a fairly simple concept: Let energy projects use the grid interconnection capacity they already possess to its fullest potential. Many energy projects don’t use their maximum capacity all 8,760 hours of the year. So-called “peaker” plants — fossil-gas-fired power plants that are turned on only during times of high electricity demand — may run just 250 to 1,500 hours per year, for example. And wind and solar farms generate their full capacity only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. That leaves plenty of hours when these projects aren’t using their maximum allowed grid capacity — their “interconnection service,” in FERC parlance. Surplus interconnection service can fill in those gaps. Mike Borgatti, Gabel Associates’ senior vice president of wholesale power and markets services and co-author of the report, offered the example of a 100-megawatt solar farm that could add batteries to store power during the day and send to the grid after the sun goes down. “At the end of the day, you would end up with 100 megawatts of energy that could be supplied by any combination of solar and storage,” he said. “It could be 100 percent storage at some points in time; it could be 100 percent solar at others. It could be, say, 50 megawatts of solar and 50 megawatts of storage. As long as whatever combination of outputs never exceeds 100 megawatts, we’re good to go.” FERC made clear in 2018’s Order 845 and in last year’s Order 2023 that grid operators must enable surplus interconnection service, Borgatti added. And PJM needs to “accelerate new entry from high-capacity-value resources, and we need to do it very quickly.” PJM has about 180 gigawatts of total generation capacity. Of that, 43 to 58 gigawatts are expected to shut down by 2030, according to a March report from its independent market monitor. Meanwhile, electricity demand is forecast to rise at a rapid rate, with an estimated 40 gigawatts of new load expected by 2030. Despite these pressures, new power plant construction has stalled. About 160 gigawatts’ worth of projects that are trying to connect to the grid — almost all of them wind, solar, or batteries — are stuck in the interconnection queue. Borgatti estimated that without changes, only about 6.3 gigawatts of “stuff we need” can be built by 2030. That’s not enough to make up for PJM’s growing electricity demand and shrinking power plant fleet. The upshot, he said, is that PJM faces an impending “resource adequacy shortfall” — a gap between forecasted energy supply and peak demand — of nearly 4 gigawatts by 2029, he said. The underlying barrier is that PJM hasn’t expanded its transmission grid quickly enough to accommodate more energy resources, Borgatti said. That’s a problem bedeviling grid operators across the country, and one FERC has ordered them to solve. But building new transmission lines still takes years to up to a decade. In the face of this grid-capacity challenge, SIS projects are a neat workaround, Borgatti said. Because they make use of previously approved grid capacity, they can undergo an expedited study process that circumvents the standard interconnection queue. That accelerated timeline takes only 270 days, meaning that these projects could go from proposal to construction “within less than a year, theoretically.” What’s more, batteries added to solar and wind farms can store power when the grid doesn’t need it and discharge it when it’s in short supply — something that’s already happening regularly in California and Texas. Batteries can also help meet fast-rising demand from corporate energy buyers like data center developers for clean energy that matches up with their power usage on an hour-by-hour basis, EDPR’s Mindham said.

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Exxon Mobil says advanced recycling is the answer to plastic waste. But is it really?

Exxon Mobil has touted 'advanced recycling' as a groundbreaking technology that will turn the tide in our plastic crisis. California says it's a lie.

When California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed suit against Exxon Mobil and accused the oil giant of misleading the public about the effectiveness of plastic recycling, many of the allegations surrounded the company’s marketing of a process called “advanced recycling.”In recent years — as longstanding efforts to recycle plastics have faltered — Exxon Mobil has touted advanced recycling as a groundbreaking technology that will turn the tide on the plastic crisis. Company officials and petrochemical trade organizations have used the phrase in radio spots, TV interviews and a variety of marketing material online. In a 2021 blog post, Exxon Mobil president of product solutions Karen McKee painted a particularly promising picture. “Imagine your discarded yogurt containers being transformed into medical equipment for your next doctor’s appointment, and then into the dashboard of your next fuel-efficient car.”But despite its seemingly eco-friendly name, the attorney general’s lawsuit denounced advanced recycling as a “public relations stunt” that largely involves superheating plastics to convert them into fuel. At Exxon Mobil’s only “advanced recycling” facility in Baytown, Texas, only 8% of plastic is remade into new material, while the remaining 92% is processed into fuel that is later burned. Bonta’s lawsuit seeks a court order to prohibit the company from describing the practice as “advanced recycling,” arguing the vast majority of plastic is destroyed. Many environmental advocates and policy experts lauded the legal action as a major step toward ending greenwashing by Exxon Mobil — the world’s largest producer of single-use plastic polymer.“There’s nothing ‘advanced’ about it,” said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics. “It’s a deception. It’s been a deception for half a century. If they were going to be able to recycle plastic polymer back into virgin resin, they would have done it already. But they are using the same technology we’ve had since the Industrial Revolution. It’s a coke oven, a blast furnace.”As more research has emerged on the limitations of plastics recycling, the revelations have shaken the public’s confidence about what to put in their blue, curbside recycling bins. “The public perception of what’s recyclable with respect to plastic doesn’t match reality,” said Daniel Coffee, a UCLA researcher who studied plastic waste in Los Angeles County. “Recycling, for so long, was thought of as this perfectly crafted solution to single-use plastics. And the clearest answer as to why, is that the public was told so. They were told so, in large part, by an industry-backed misinformation campaign.”Advanced recycling, which is also called chemical recycling, is an umbrella term that typically involves heating or dissolving plastic waste to create fuel, chemicals and waxes — a fraction of which can be used to remake plastic. The most common techniques yield only 1% to 14% of the plastic waste, according to a 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Exxon Mobil has largely used reclaimed plastic for fuel production while ramping up its virgin plastic production, according to Bonta.“You’re essentially drawing oil up, turning it into plastic, and then having to burn more oil to turn that plastic back into oil, which you then burn,” Coffee said.Bonta alleges Exxon Mobil has had a patent for this technology since 1978, and the company is falsely rebranding it as “new” and “advanced.” The practice was tested in the 1990s, but did not continue beyond the trial phase. It recently reemerged after the company learned that the term “advanced recycling” resonated with members of the public at a time of increasing concern over increasing amounts of plastic waste. In December 2022, it announced the start of an advanced recycling program. In a 2023 interview with a Houston television station, an Exxon Mobil representative touted the Baytown facility.“When [customers] buy a plastic product off the shelf, they want to know that it’s sustainable,” the Exxon Mobil employee said. “This is a huge game change for the industry — but I would say society in general.”In response to Bonta’s lawsuit, Exxon Mobil said its Baytown facility has processed 60 million pounds of plastic into “usable raw materials” that otherwise would go to landfills. Experts say that figure pales in comparison with the company’s 31.9 billion-pound annual production capacity.Nationwide, the Baytown plant is one of about five facilities that break plastics down by exposing them to high heat, according to the Last Beach Cleanup, a nonprofit working on plastic pollution. California has adopted some of the nation’s most strict laws to reduce single-use plastics. Perhaps the most consequential, SB 54, requires the state to sell 25% less single-use plastic packaging and foodware. It also prohibits waste incineration and similar practices from being counted as recycling. Because most plastics cannot be recycled, state officials have struggled to figure out how to dispose of this material. California had previously exported much of its plastic waste to China. But China has banned the import of most foreign plastics, nearly eliminating the market for used plastic.In 2021, about 5.4 million tons of plastic waste was taken to California landfills, according to the latest state disposal data. That same year, more than 625,000 tons of trash was sent to so-called “transformation” facilities, where waste is incinerated, or burned in the absence of oxygen (a process called pyrolysis). California does not track data on how much of this incinerated waste was plastic, according to CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees waste management. The state also doesn’t keep detailed information on how much plastic waste is exported to other states and how they process it.“California’s vision for a waste-free future is focused on reducing waste, reuse, and intentionally designing products that flow back into the system for efficient collection and remanufacturing into new products,” said Maria West, a spokesperson for CalRecycle.If the state is earnest in its pledge to eliminate waste, environmental advocates say the state needs to phase out single-use plastics.“You can’t do anything with plastic but landfill it or burn it,” said Williams. “You can try to repurpose it, but you’ll never compete with virgin stock. And even then, you have to shred it, make it into pellets and feed it into a blast furnace. How is that good for the climate? How is that better than coal?” Newsletter Toward a more sustainable California Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

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Southern California officials plead for help as cross-border sewage crisis poisons air

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Southern California officials plead for help as cross-border sewage crisis poisons air

Related News

In South Korea, Nations Meet in Final Round to Address Global Plastic Crisis

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Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future