San Diego County leaders are committing the county to stepping up efforts to help residents bearing the brunt of the decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to explore what it would take to administer a plan that calls for further monitoring and mitigation of cross-border pollution from Mexico and implementing health protections. The plan, proposed by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and brought before the board by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, consists of five key elements: study the health impacts of chronic exposure to the toxic sewer gas hydrogen sulfide; assess the full scope of crisis-linked economic losses; eliminate a hot spot along the Tijuana River to lessen aerosolization of the gas; and create a county sewage crisis chief position. It also suggests giving schools and child care centers air filtration that’s engineered to remove hydrogen sulfide from the air if the county can show that the infrastructure will effectively eliminate odors.

Related articles:

• inewsource (San Diego): San Diego County may designate a ‘Sewage Crisis Chief’ to coordinate Tijuana River pollution response
• Times of San Diego: ‘Stepping up’: Supervisors advance action plan for Tijuana River sewage crisis
• NBC 7 (San Diego): San Diego County considers 5-point plan to address Tijuana River sewage crisis