Image Courtesy of Zack Wick/YouTube
By Arianna Antillon
Trump Administration environmental officials have said sewage crossing the border via the Tijuana River from Mexico “is a Mexican problem, not an American problem.”
Southwestern College Trustee Robert Moreno and regional public health officials disagree.
“Southwestern was the first (public agency) to declare the Imperial Beach sewage situation as a problem for our community before any other agencies or arms of government decided to take on the problem,” he said. “Sewage has been coming over the border in the river since about 1926. That’s 100 years of no solution to a serious problem. It is an international problem and the federal government needs to be involved. For the feds to punt on our region’s most serious health issue is unconscionable.”
President Trump’s dismantling of the Environment Protection Agency has meant crippling cutbacks for health agencies in the San Diego-Tijuana metroplex and a dagger in the heart of environmental justice efforts for low-income communities, said Amy Castanedas, Associate Director of Policy for the Environmental Health Coalition.
“More pain is coming our way,” she said. “We just didn’t know when.”
EHC has operated for 45 years to provide a voice for marginalized communities, Castaneda said. She criticized EPA Director Lee Zeldin for cancelling 400 grants totaling $1.7 billion to improve air and water quality, and $20 billion to tackle climate change and air pollution.
“Hard-working Americans will lose their basic right to clean air,” she said.
Barrio Logan residents, hit so hard by construction of the Interstate 5 and Coronado Bridge, lost $22 million for construction of parks, a microtransit system and a community land trust.
“Our hearts dropped when we saw our name on that list,” said Castaneda. “It was painful letting go of staff.”
Southwestern College campuses and communities where staff and students live are disproportionately affected by pollution and cancer-causing toxins. Moreno said low-income people always bear the brunt of inequitable environmental policy.
“We are easy to ignore because we don’t speak up,” he said. “We do not have to put up with the federal government turning a blind eye to our situation and our needs. We need to come together and let them know about it.”
Moreno said Southwestern is modeling the way forward by becoming a more environmentally friendly campus.
