California state agencies and officials will convene a series of public meetings next week to discuss ongoing mitigation efforts and funding for the decades-old Tijuana River sewage crisis. The California Coastal Commission will meet Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. at the Pier South Resort, 800 Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, with public comment available on a specified agenda item addressing the crisis. A day later, the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee will hold a hearing at the Scripps Seaside Forum, 8610 Kennel Way, in La Jolla at 9 a.m. State Sen. Catherine Blakespear and Assemblymember Damon Connolly will chair the Dec. 11 hearing. Assemblymember David Alvarez will host a town hall Dec. 12 at Chula Vista City Hall to discuss the Tijuana River Valley and California Proposition 4 funding. A time has not been announced. Additional events include a San Diego County air filter distribution Monday from 3-7 p.m. at the Imperial Beach Sports Park and an Air Pollution Control District board meeting Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. at the San Diego County Administration Center. The meetings come as approximately 169 billion gallons of water contaminated with raw sewage, industrial waste and trash has flowed through the Tijuana River Valley since 2018, creating an ongoing public health crisis for communities in south San Diego and Tijuana. Sewage water filled with trash flow down the Tijuana River on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Imperial Beach, California. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune) Alongside state and local officials advocating for funding and mitigation efforts, federal agencies are working to expand treatment capacity at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which now processes 35 million gallons per day, up from 25 million gallons. The facility is slated to reach 50 million gallons daily capacity by December 2027. Mexico has initiated construction on the first phase of the Tijuana River Gates collection pipes project and is expected to allocate $93 million across 2026-2027 budgets. On Friday, California congressional representatives and senators sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer urging the Trump administration to pursue additional investments during its upcoming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “As the Administration begins its review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), we strongly urge you to use this opportunity to pursue further investments and cross-border cooperation to curb the transboundary sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley,” the statement said. Sarah Davidson, Surfrider Foundation’s Clean Border Water Now manager, said federal agencies must work with local agencies, academic institutions and community-based organizations to effectively address the ongoing crisis. “We are eager to see the U.S. and Mexico’s commitments come to fruition,” Davidson said in a statement Thursday. “The burden of proof for collecting data and assessing if advancements are working should not be placed on those most impacted. It should be on those who are responsible for managing and protecting this region.” ...read more read less