Tijuana: Liga MX Showdowns and Key City Metrics
Trump EPA Claims Sewage Cleanup Ahead of Schedule: Data or Delusion?
The Trump administration's EPA is claiming victory in the seemingly endless battle against sewage flowing from Tijuana into San Diego. On October 31, 2025, they announced cutting additional months from construction timelines aimed at resolving the crisis. Twelve years shaved off the project in total, they say. That’s a big number, but let’s dig into what it actually means.
Decoding the EPA's "Savings"
The EPA, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, completed a 100-day review, finding they’d trimmed nine more months off the completion time for two key projects: the Rehabilitation of Pump Station 1 and the reconstruction of the Tijuana River Gates. This follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in July with Mexico's Secretary of the Environment, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, streamlining efforts under the Minute 328 agreement.
Minute 328, a 2022 agreement between the US and Mexico, outlined 17 sanitation infrastructure projects to address the sewage issue. The MOU set a hard deadline of December 31, 2027, for all projects. Mexico also designated unused Minute 328 funds to these projects. So, what's the catch?
The problem is, the EPA's announcement feels like a classic case of political spin. Claiming to have "cut" time from projects already facing decades of delays is hardly a reason to celebrate. It's like bragging about paying off your credit card bill a week early when you’ve been carrying a balance for ten years. The core issue – decades of neglect and underinvestment – remains.
This whole situation reminds me of Zeno's paradox. Every step brings you closer, but do you ever actually arrive?
The EPA claims Minute 328 "did not go far enough," prompting their full review. But did it really not go far enough, or was it simply not enforced effectively? The announcement lacks concrete details. Which specific bottlenecks did the MOU address? What were the original, wildly unrealistic timelines for these projects, and how were they revised? These are the questions that matter.
Public Sentiment: A River of Discontent
Online comments paint a picture of deep-seated frustration. While some commenters thank the Trump administration, the prevailing sentiment is one of exasperation with bureaucratic delays. Many point fingers at California Governor Gavin Newsom for vetoing a $100 million cleanup bill in 2022. (The precise reasons for the veto aren’t specified in the available information, which is a critical omission.)
Anecdotally, people are furious. Surfers can't surf, families can't enjoy the beach. These aren’t abstract economic concerns; they’re real-world quality-of-life issues.
And let's not forget the Navy SEALs training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Reports of serious illnesses among SEALs due to contaminated water are deeply troubling. Are we sacrificing the health of our service members because of bureaucratic inertia and cross-border inaction?
I've looked at countless reports on environmental remediation, and this situation stands out for its sheer duration and the number of stakeholders impacted.
The root cause, as always, is a complex mix of factors. Tijuana’s population boom (an approximately 188% increase from 1990 to 2025) has strained outdated wastewater infrastructure. Cross-border coordination is notoriously difficult. Funding is always a battle. But at some point, the buck has to stop somewhere.
Cleaning up the Tijuana sewage crisis was supposedly a top priority for EPA chief Zeldin, who visited San Diego and Mexico in April. But did these visits translate into tangible progress, or were they just photo ops? The data, as presented, is insufficient to draw a firm conclusion. According to a Fox News report, the Trump EPA slashes 12 years off sewage cleanup crisis that has rocked California for decades.