Pass Senate Bill 1208 to Protect the Tijuana River Watershed from MORE Pollution

SB 1208 bill will prohibit the regional water board from issuing a waste discharge permit for a landfill that is being proposed in East Otay Mesa, located in the upper Tijuana Watershed. Adding a new landfill to this already stressed region would be socially unjust and would undermine the passionate efforts of so many local leaders and advocates to relieve the community of the catastrophic pollution problem in the area.

Preventing a landfill in this area is important because we shouldn’t be adding an ounce of additional pollution to this area. There is already a public health and environmental justice emergency in The Tijuana River Watershed. The Tijuana River was designated one of America’s 10 most endangered rivers in 2024 due to severe contamination from industrial waste and raw sewage; and Surfrider’s 2023 Clean Water Report named Imperial Beach the number one most polluted beaches in the U.S. in 2023, after more than 935 days of continuous beach closures (as of July 2024). This relentless pollution has pushed critical wetland ecosystems to the brink of collapse, forced the closure of several South San Diego County beaches for over two years, and caused severe health issues in frontline communities along its path, including Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Nestor and Tijuana.

Senator Padilla, Surfrider, and local advocates maintain that we simply cannot afford to add another potential major source of pollution to this incredibly overburdened area. San Diego’s 2022 Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan (CIWMP) report indicates that San Diego County has nearly 30 years of capacity remaining in existing landfills, and that the new landfill is unnecessary. Moreover, the proposed project circumvents the usual county-required Major Use Permit, limiting public input and oversight from local elected officials. You can read more about our request in Surfrider’s joint letter with San Diego Coastkeeper, Protect Otay Foothills and others.