[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4357 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4357
To provide for the water quality restoration of the Tijuana River and
the New River, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2025
Mr. Vargas (for himself, Mr. Peters, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Levin, and Mr.
Ruiz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs,
and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the water quality restoration of the Tijuana River and
the New River, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Border Water
Quality Restoration and Protection Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I--TIJUANA RIVER PUBLIC HEALTH AND WATER QUALITY RESTORATION
Sec. 101. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 102. Definitions.
Sec. 103. Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration
Program.
Sec. 104. Water quality action plan.
Sec. 105. Grants, interagency and other agreements, and assistance.
Sec. 106. Annual budget plan.
Sec. 107. Reports.
TITLE II--NEW RIVER PUBLIC HEALTH AND WATER QUALITY RESTORATION
Sec. 201. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 202. Definitions.
Sec. 203. California New River Public Health and Water Quality
Restoration Program.
Sec. 204. Water quality action plan.
Sec. 205. Grants, interagency and other agreements, and assistance.
Sec. 206. Annual budget plan.
Sec. 207. Reports.
TITLE III--BORDER WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT
Sec. 301. United States-Mexico border water infrastructure program.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 401. Role of the Commissioner and international agreements.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the
Commissioner of the United States Section of the International
Boundary and Water Commission.
(3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in section 102 of the
Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C.
5130).
(4) Mexican.--The term ``Mexican'', with respect to
entities from Mexico, means, as applicable, the Federal, State,
and local governments of Mexico.
(5) New river.--The term ``New River'' means the river that
starts in Mexicali, Mexico, flows north into the United States
through Calexico, passes through the Imperial Valley, and
drains into the Salton Sea.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of State.
(7) Tijuana river.--The term ``Tijuana River'' means the
river that rises in the Sierra de Juarez in Mexico, flows
through the City of Tijuana and then north into the United
States, passes through the Tijuana River estuary, and drains
into the Pacific Ocean.
(8) Water reuse.--The term ``water reuse'' has the meaning
given the term in the document of the Environmental Protection
Agency entitled ``National Water Reuse Action Plan
Collaborative Implementation (Version 1)'' and dated February
2020.
TITLE I--TIJUANA RIVER PUBLIC HEALTH AND WATER QUALITY RESTORATION
SEC. 101. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Tijuana River flows across the United States-Mexico
border, through the southern United States, and into the
Pacific Ocean;
(2) \3/4\ of the 1,750 square mile watershed of the Tijuana
River lies in Mexico, and the remaining \1/4\ includes the
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in the United
States;
(3) the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
is a partnership of Federal and State agencies, including the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California
State Parks, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
(4) the Tijuana River is a significant estuary and
watershed, providing--
(A) economic and health benefits to the citizens of
the United States and Mexico; and
(B) environmental benefits as critical habitat to
shore birds;
(5) the economy of communities in southern California,
including smaller communities, such as the City of Imperial
Beach, and larger municipalities, such as the City of San
Diego, may be significantly affected--
(A) if the natural beauty and recreational
opportunities of the Tijuana River are degraded; and
(B) due to public health and environmental impacts;
(6) the Tijuana River watershed is in the midst of an
environmental crisis, as stormwater flows from the upper
watershed, originating in Tijuana, Mexico, carrying pollutants
such as bacteria, trash, and sediment that severely affect
water quality;
(7) coastal communities in and near the Tijuana River
watershed are also affected, during certain tidal events, by a
combination of treated wastewater and chlorinated-only
wastewater discharged from the San Antonio de los Buenos
wastewater treatment plant located 5 miles south of the United
States-Mexico border in Tijuana;
(8) as reported by the Government Accountability Office in
February 2020, transboundary flows of untreated sewage,
combined with unmanaged stormwater, bring bacteria and other
contaminants into the Tijuana River Valley watershed and
beaches in the United States;
(9) sediment flows into the Tijuana River National Wildlife
Refuge and blocks the flow of ocean water and creates an
imbalance in water salinity, necessary for marsh plants, fish,
and birds;
(10) before the date of enactment of this Act, the City of
Imperial Beach has experienced more than 1,000 consecutive days
of beach closures due to the ongoing influx of sewage,
industrial discharges, and trash from the Tijuana River due to
risk to human health;
(11) flows of untreated sewage, chemicals, and pollution
from Mexico jeopardize the health of Border Patrol agents and
limit the ability of those agents to operate in areas affected
by these flows;
(12) a March 2020 report of the Environmental Financial
Advisory Board of the Environmental Protection Agency--
(A) found that--
(i) ``stormwater knows no jurisdictional
boundaries . . . and is a principal cause of
water quality issues nationwide''; and
(ii) adequate funding to manage stormwater
pollution lags behind the investments made in
wastewater management and the delivery of safe
drinking water by decades; and
(B) concluded that Federal investment will be
required to address--
(i) the lack of State and local funding;
and
(ii) multi-jurisdictional stormwater
management needs;
(13) during the 10-year period before the date of enactment
of this Act, Federal, State, and local governments and others
have identified the benefits of using natural and green
infrastructure to control and manage stormwater runoff,
including wetlands, coastal dunes, and retention structures;
(14) during the 20-year period before the date of enactment
of this Act, the United States and Mexico, through the
International Boundary and Water Commission, have agreed to
resolve the pollution problems in the Tijuana River;
(15) the International Boundary and Water Commission has
negotiated 9 Minutes to resolve water quality problems in the
Tijuana River, among other subjects;
(16) 1 of the most recent Minutes authorized the
construction of the South Bay International Wastewater
Treatment Plant in San Ysidro to treat, on average, 25,000,000
gallons of sewage from Tijuana per day, which has reduced the
sewage coming into the United States;
(17) the sewer system of Tijuana is--
(A) aging and deteriorating; and
(B) insufficient to meet the needs of a quickly
growing population;
(18) in August 2023, Tropical Storm Hilary--
(A) caused more than 2,000,000,000 gallons of
contaminated water to flow across the border; and
(B) exacerbated vulnerabilities at the South Bay
International Wastewater Treatment Plant;
(19) on January 22, 2024, a record-breaking storm caused
the Tijuana River to reach the highest flow ever recorded for
that river at 14,500,000 gallons per day;
(20) from January to December of 2024, an estimated
36,154,000,000 gallons of wastewater, treated water, and
stormwater flowed from Mexico to the United States;
(21) on June 17, 2024, a pump station failure resulted in
approximately 302,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilling
onto the public right-of-way;
(22) during the 2-year period before the date of enactment
of this Act, transboundary flows occurred on 317 days, on
average, each year;
(23) those transboundary flows contain treated wastewater,
raw sewage, and urban runoff, with most of those flows
associated with wet weather and stormwater;
(24) during the 2-year period before the date of enactment
of this Act, unprecedented dry weather flows reached
approximately 13,795,000,000 gallons;
(25) abnormal dry weather flows and sediment have caused
pump failures, oppressive odors, and public health concerns;
(26) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1251 et seq.) has established a stormwater permit program under
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, under
which municipalities have the responsibility to manage and
treat stormwater;
(27) because of the international border and different
treatment systems and standards, discharges in Mexico to the
Tijuana River are not treated to the same standards as the
standards to which discharges would be treated in the United
States;
(28) the International Boundary and Water Commission
negotiated Minute 320 to find solutions for water quality,
trash, and sediment in the Tijuana River;
(29) the International Boundary and Water Commission
negotiated Minute 328 to implement sanitation infrastructure
projects in Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego,
California, that will be financed with a total joint investment
of $474,000,000;
(30) the United States has invested at least $300,000,000
for secondary wastewater treatment in the Tijuana River Valley
by the International Boundary and Water Commission and the
Environmental Protection Agency through the United States-
Mexico-Canada Agreement and Minute 328;
(31) the Environmental Protection Agency and the
International Boundary and Water Commission selected
Alternative 2, as described in the final programmatic
environmental impact statement of the Environmental Protection
Agency and the International Boundary and Water Commission
entitled ``USMCA Mitigation of Contaminated Transboundary Flows
Project'' and dated November 2, 2022, and selected in the
record of decision of the Environmental Protection Agency and
the International Boundary and Water Commission entitled
``Joint Record of Decision for the Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement for United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement Mitigation of Contaminated Transboundary Flows
Project'' and signed on June 9, 2023;
(32) the United States has also helped fund water and
wastewater infrastructure along the border through the Border
Water Infrastructure Program and the North American Development
Bank; and
(33) however, as the Government Accountability Office found
in the report described in paragraph (8)--
(A) the longstanding environmental and health
problems associated with transboundary stormwater flows
continue; and
(B) while the International Boundary and Water
Commission has taken the first steps to conduct long-
term capital planning to resolve existing problems by
proposing and analyzing alternatives, analyzing costs,
identifying solutions, or establishing time frames,
significant additional investment from the resources of
Federal, State, Tribal, local, and Mexican entities is
needed to improve the water quality of the Tijuana
River watershed.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
(1) to establish a Geographic Program to plan and implement
water quality restoration and protection activities;
(2) to ensure the coordination of restoration and
protection activities among Mexican, Federal, State, local, and
regional entities and conservation partners relating to water
quality and stormwater management in the Mexican Tijuana River
watershed and the American Tijuana River watershed; and
(3) to provide funding for water quality restoration and
protection activities in the Mexican Tijuana River watershed
and the American Tijuana River watershed.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) American tijuana river watershed.--The term ``American
Tijuana River watershed'' means the portion of the Tijuana
River watershed that lies in the United States.
(2) Mexican tijuana river watershed.--The term ``Mexican
Tijuana River watershed'' means the portion of the Tijuana
River watershed that lies in Mexico.
(3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Tijuana River
Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program established
under section 103(a)(1).
(4) Program director.--The term ``Program Director'' means
the Program Director of the program designated under section
103(a)(2).
(5) Water quality restoration and protection.--The term
``water quality restoration and protection'', with respect to
the Tijuana River watershed, means--
(A) the enhancement of water quality and stormwater
management; and
(B) the use of natural and green infrastructure to
enhance the ability of the watershed to capture
pollutants and reduce runoff to prevent flooding.
SEC. 103. TIJUANA RIVER PUBLIC HEALTH AND WATER QUALITY RESTORATION
PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) Program.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, subject to the availability of
appropriations provided specifically for this purpose, the
Administrator shall establish a Geographic Program, to be known
as the ``Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality
Restoration Program''.
(2) Program director.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
designate a Program Director of the program, who shall--
(A) have leadership and project management
experience; and
(B) be qualified--
(i) to direct the integration of multiple
project planning efforts and programs from
different agencies and jurisdictions;
(ii) to align numerous, and possibly
competing, priorities to accomplish visible and
measurable outcomes under the action plan under
section 104(a)(1);
(iii) to manage efforts and associated
functions needed to run the management
conference described in subsection (b)(2);
(iv) to facilitate engagement with the
International Boundary and Water Commission and
related Federal agencies;
(v) to solicit feedback from relevant
Federal, State, Tribal, local, public,
nonprofit, and other relevant stakeholders on
the creation and implementation of the action
plan under section 104(a)(1); and
(vi) to consult with Indian Tribes within
the American Tijuana River watershed region.
(b) Duties.--In carrying out the program--
(1) the Administrator shall--
(A) develop the action plan under section 104(a)(1)
to address pollution prevention, environmental and
ecological restoration, climate change, resilience, and
mitigation, and related efforts, in the American
Tijuana River watershed region;
(B) carry out projects, plans, and initiatives for
the Tijuana River and work in consultation with
applicable management entities, including
representatives of the Federal Government, State and
local governments, Tribal governments, and regional and
nonprofit organizations, to carry out public health and
water quality restoration and protection activities
relating to the Tijuana River;