S. 2260 — Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act

This section sets forth congressional findings on pollution in the Tijuana River watershed, including transboundary flows of untreated sewage, stormwater, bacteria, trash, and sediment from Mexico that have caused over 1,000 consecutive days of beach closures in Imperial Beach prior to enactment, 36.154 billion gallons of wastewater and stormwater flows into the United States in 2024, and public health and economic impacts on U.S. border communities and federal agents.

This section provides definitions for terms used in this title, including (1) American Tijuana River watershed, meaning the portion of the Tijuana River watershed in the United States; (2) Mexican Tijuana River watershed, meaning the portion in Mexico; (3) program, meaning the Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program established under section 103(a)(1); (4) Program Director, meaning the director designated under section 103(a)(2); and (5) water quality restoration and protection, meaning, with respect to the Tijuana River watershed, the enhancement of water quality and stormwater management and the use of natural and green infrastructure to capture pollutants and reduce runoff to prevent flooding.

This section establishes the Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program (a Geographic Program) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to appropriations, and requires the EPA Administrator to designate a qualified Program Director not later than 180 days after enactment. The Program Director must convene a management conference for the Tijuana River pursuant to section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) not later than 120 days after designation. (As background, section 320 authorizes the National Estuary Program, under which the Administrator convenes management conferences for estuaries of national significance to develop comprehensive plans controlling point and nonpoint pollution necessary for water quality, public water supplies, balanced indigenous populations of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities.) In carrying out the program, the Administrator must (1) develop an action plan under section 104(a)(1) addressing pollution prevention, environmental and ecological restoration, climate change resilience and mitigation, and related efforts in the American Tijuana River watershed region; (2) implement projects, plans, and initiatives, including monitoring, data collection, science-based water quality activities, water reuse and recycling, and natural and green infrastructure; (3) coordinate consistent Federal policies, strategies, projects, and priorities and a regional funding strategy; and (4) provide grants, agreements, and technical assistance under section 105. The Administrator must consult, as appropriate, with specified heads of Federal agencies (including the Departments of the Army, Homeland Security, Agriculture, the Interior, and Navy; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; NOAA; USFWS; USGS; and others), Tribal representatives, California state and local agencies (including the Governor, environmental and water boards, and San Diego County), rotating local government and nonprofit representatives selected by the Governor, and other entities such as the International Boundary and Water Commission and North American Development Bank. The Administrator must also enter into cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding, and provide technical assistance, using funds from the U.S.-Mexico border water infrastructure program under section 301.

This section directs the EPA Administrator, in consultation with specified entities, to develop an action plan to improve and protect water quality in the Tijuana River watershed (i.e., the cross-border U.S.-Mexico region spanning San Diego, CA, and Tijuana, BC, affected by transboundary wastewater, stormwater, and contaminant flows), consistent with the U.S.-Mexico Statement of Intent signed July 1, 2022; issue the plan within one year of enactment; and update it every five years thereafter. The plan must (1) incorporate existing efforts and projects identified in Alternative 2 of the November 2, 2022, final programmatic environmental impact statement and June 9, 2023, record of decision for the USMCA Mitigation of Contaminated Transboundary Flows Project; (2) address wastewater, stormwater, and untreated flows; (3) establish criteria for selecting restoration projects; and (4) identify operations and maintenance costs for existing and new infrastructure, along with potential funding sources, including alternatives assessed per the EPA Environmental Financial Advisory Board's March 2020 report on stormwater financing. The plan must include a priority list of potential water quality restoration projects—covering wastewater/stormwater management, debris/sediment/contaminant removal, and water reuse/recycling in the U.S., Mexican, and transboundary portions of the watershed—that estimates costs and funding entities; is developed using best available science (with Administrator-funded monitoring as needed); and prioritizes projects to meet standards for public health, recreation, scenic resources, wildlife/habitat, and water needs.

This section authorizes the EPA Administrator to provide grants and technical assistance to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Commissioner, state and local governments, Tribal governments, the North American Development Bank (NADB), entities described in section 103(c)(11), nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education in the United States and Mexico, as well as to enter into interagency agreements with other federal agencies, to carry out the program's purposes under section 101(b) and implement priority projects under section 104(c). The section requires the Administrator, in consultation with entities under section 103(c), to develop criteria ensuring such activities advance those purposes and projects; allows project-specific federal cost-sharing requirements; permits agreements with NADB or a similar organization for grant administration, including advance payments of the full annual amount; authorizes the IBWC Commissioner to construct, operate, and maintain funded projects; and authorizes appropriations of $50 million for each of FY2026 through FY2036 (to remain available until expended), with not more than 5% for salaries, expenses, and administration and authority to transfer funds to the Commissioner.

This section requires the President, as part of the annual budget submission to Congress under 31 U.S.C. 1105(a), to include estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for projects under this title—including administrative needs and expenses—for the current year, budget year, and five outyears (as defined in 2 U.S.C. 900(c)), covering projects on the priority list under section 104(c), for each federal agency described in section 103(c)(1).

This section directs the Administrator to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment and every two years thereafter, a report on the implementation of this title that includes (1) a description of each project funded under this title and the status of all such projects in progress on the report date and (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the operation and maintenance of each completed project.

This section states congressional findings concerning the New River's origin, 66-mile path from Mexicali, Mexico, through Calexico and the Imperial Valley to the Salton Sea, its 750-square-mile sub-watershed (63% in Mexico, 37% in the U.S.), historical pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, pesticides, and industrial wastes, and past remediation efforts—including Minute 288 sanitation projects (Mexicali I and II, approximately $50 million via the North American Development Bank), Las Arenitas and Zaragoza wastewater treatment plants ($100 million, with 55% U.S. and 45% Mexican funding), EPA monitoring since 1995, a new Mexicali sewage treatment plant, and California's 2016 $1.4 million appropriation for the New River Improvement Project (revised to include trash screens, conveyance systems, aeration devices, a pump station, and managed wetlands). The section declares the purposes of the title to coordinate water quality restoration and protection activities relating to the New River among Mexican, federal, state, local, regional, and conservation entities, including (1) sustaining and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat; (2) improving water quality to support fish, wildlife, and habitats; (3) enhancing water management for volume and flood damage mitigation to benefit habitats; (4) improving public access and recreation consistent with ecological needs; (5) maximizing habitat resilience; (6) engaging the public through outreach, education, and involvement; (7) increasing scientific capacity for planning, monitoring, and research; and (8) providing technical assistance.

This section defines, for purposes of this title, (1) the term "program" as the California New River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program established under section 203(a); and (2) the term "water quality restoration and protection" (with respect to the New River watershed) as (A) the enhancement of water quality and stormwater management and (B) the use of natural and green infrastructure to enhance the watershed's ability to capture pollutants and reduce runoff to prevent flooding.

This section establishes the California New River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program not later than 180 days after enactment, subject to appropriations. (As background, the New River is a transboundary waterway originating in Mexicali, Mexico, and flowing into California's Imperial Valley, where it carries untreated wastewater and poses public health risks.) In carrying out the program, the EPA Administrator must (1) implement projects, plans, and initiatives supported by the California-Mexico Border Relations Council, in consultation with specified entities including the Calexico New River Committee; (2) develop and support science-based water quality restoration activities—including monitoring, water reuse and recycling projects, and natural and green infrastructure—targeting cost-effective outcomes; and (3) provide grants, agreements, and technical assistance per section 205. The section further requires coordination with specified federal agencies (e.g., Interior, Agriculture, Homeland Security), California state and local entities (e.g., State Water Resources Control Board, Imperial Irrigation District), and others; and authorizes cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding with federal, state, local, private, and Mexican entities to conduct studies, construction, and a pilot project funding operations and maintenance for select water quality improvement efforts, with provisions for cost-sharing payments deposited into EPA's State and Tribal Assistance Grants account.

This section directs the Administrator, in consultation with entities described in section 203(c), to develop an action plan to improve and protect water quality in the New River watershed. The plan must (1) build on existing efforts; (2) identify features to address wastewater, stormwater runoff, and untreated flows; criteria for selecting restoration and protection projects; operations and maintenance costs for existing and new infrastructure and potential funding sources; and (3) assess alternative financing approaches, including those recommended in the Environmental Financial Advisory Board's March 2020 report, "Evaluating Stormwater Infrastructure Funding and Financing." The Administrator must issue the plan not later than one year after enactment and update it every five years thereafter. The plan must include a priority list of potential or proposed projects—developed using best available science, including funded monitoring and modeling as needed—that (1) manage wastewater or stormwater or remove debris, sediment, chemicals, bacteria, and other contaminants from transboundary flows north into the United States; (2) estimate costs and identify funding entities; (3) coordinate agency funding; and (4) prioritize projects to achieve water quality standards for public health, recreation, scenic resources, wildlife and habitat, and water reuse or recycling needs in the watershed and nearby coastal communities.

This section authorizes the Administrator to provide grants and technical assistance to the Commissioner, state and local governments, Tribal governments, the North American Development Bank, specified entities, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education in the United States and Mexico, and to enter into interagency agreements with other federal agencies, to carry out the program's purposes and implement priority projects. The Administrator must develop criteria ensuring funded activities align with those purposes and projects, may establish cost-sharing requirements, may delegate administration to the North American Development Bank (with advance payments of appropriated amounts), and may transfer funds to the Commissioner, who may construct, operate, and maintain related projects. It authorizes appropriations of $50 million for each of FY2026 through 2036, available until expended, of which up to 5% may be used for administration.

This section requires the President, as part of the annual budget submission to Congress under 31 U.S.C. 1105(a), to include estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for projects under this title—including administrative needs and expenses—for the current year, budget year, and five outyears (as defined in 2 U.S.C. 900(c)), for each federal agency described in section 203(c)(1), including projects on the priority list under section 204(c).

This section directs the Administrator to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment and biennially thereafter, a report on the implementation of this title that (1) describes each project funded under the title and the status of all projects in progress as of the report date, and (2) assesses the effectiveness of the operation and maintenance of each completed project.

This section establishes a program to be carried out by the EPA Administrator to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, or both to eligible entities—including the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, states, local governments, Indian Tribes, and water or wastewater districts—for eligible projects involving construction of drinking water treatment or distribution, wastewater management, or stormwater management infrastructure (including natural and green infrastructure, water reuse, and water recycling) within 100 kilometers of the United States-Mexico border. Eligible projects must address existing human health or ecological issues with effects in the United States, meet applicable water quality standards, comply with relevant laws, and have support from appropriate Mexican agencies if located in Mexico; ineligible projects include those for new water supply, those threatening U.S. ecosystems or reducing water flow, or those enabling new development. In implementing the program, the Administrator must consult with the North American Development Bank; coordinate with federal, state, local, and Tribal border entities (including the Department of Homeland Security and relevant state agencies); prioritize projects identified in specified action plans or those with the greatest environmental and public health benefits to the U.S. side (as determined by EPA Regions 6 and 9), addressing urgent needs and maximizing sustainable practices; and may set project-specific terms, conditions, and cost-sharing requirements.

This section authorizes the Commissioner to study, design, construct, operate, and maintain projects to manage, improve, and protect wastewater, stormwater runoff, and other untreated flows in the Tijuana River watershed and the New River watershed. It directs the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, to construct, operate, and maintain specified U.S. projects on priority lists that improve water quality in those watersheds using available funds; permits agreements with Mexico for joint study, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of related projects in accordance with the 1944 water treaty between the United States and Mexico; makes projects located wholly or partially in Mexico eligible for funding under the bill's titles I, II, or III if consistent with specified action plans and approved by the Administrator; and specifies that it does not limit the authority of the International Boundary and Water Commission.