SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and his counterpart in Mexico, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, have signed a formal agreement to address and potentially solve the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

For decades, untreated raw sewage has flowed into Southern California from Mexico, polluting the Tijuana River Valley north of the border, closing beaches, fouling the air, harming the region’s economy and sickening people on both sides of the border.  

“The Trump Administration is proud to deliver this massive environmental and national security win for Americans in the San Diego area who have been living with this disgusting raw sewage flowing into their communities for far too long,” Zeldin said. 

According to a news release issued by the EPA, the accord “achieves the three top Trump Administration priorities and milestones critical to ensuring a 100% solution to this issue.”

The agreement is said to be “a direct result of the recent negotiations between the Trump Administration and Mexico following Administrator Zeldin’s visit to San Diego in April.”

According to the EPA, immediately after the trip, Zeldin and EPA administrators began working with the U.S. Department of State to start negotiations with Mexico. 

The pact outlines specific actions the United States and Mexico will take to implement “a permanent 100 percent solution to end this crisis.” 

In the agreement, Mexico is promising to invest millions of dollars for sewage mitigation projects, while expediting their completion.