Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on the Trump administration to increase funding for wastewater and sewage treatment along the U.S-Mexico border to protect the health of border patrol agents and the surrounding communities.

“According to the Border Patrol Union, 80 agents at the Imperial Beach Patrol Station were sickened in just the last year from toxic transboundary runoff that could be addressed through increased resources for the EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program,” Senator Feinstein wrote. “Therefore, expanding the EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program will not only improve the quality of life for U.S. communities along the border but also improve the safety of U.S. Border Patrol officers and their ability to fully patrol our southern border.”

Full text of the letter follows:

January 24, 2018

The Honorable Mick Mulvaney
Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Director Mulvaney,

I write to bring your attention to the attached letter from the National Border Patrol Council and to join its request that you include $20 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program in the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 Budget.

Due to geography and inadequate wastewater infrastructure on the Mexican side of the border, untreated sewage, trash, and sediment routinely flow into U.S. communities. These toxic transboundary flows jeopardize the health of U.S. Border Patrol officers and U.S. residents, require the regular closure of U.S. beaches, and endanger sensitive wildlife habitat.

According to the Border Patrol Union, 80 agents at the Imperial Beach Patrol Station were sickened in just the last year from toxic transboundary runoff that could be addressed through increased resources for the EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program. Therefore, expanding the EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program will not only improve the quality of life for U.S. communities along the border but also improve the safety of U.S. Border Patrol officers and their ability to fully patrol our southern border.

EPA’s U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program funds competitive grants to help finance critical infrastructure projects including construction of sewage collectors in Mexico to reduce polluted runoff to the U.S., wastewater treatment plants on both sides of the border, and residential and commercial sewer connections on both sides of the border to prevent illegal dumping into rivers and streams.

It is worth noting that President Trump retweeted a Fox News article on August 9, 2017 highlighting the threat to U.S. Border Patrol officers posed by the transboundary flows, and I hope you will seriously consider the funding request made by the Border Patrol Union, which endorsed President Trump during the 2016 election.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

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