SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Federal officials say the cleanup farm will soon begin seven weeks after a major storm that battered the San Diego-Tijuana region and left behind tons of trash and debris on a sod farm in a basin north of the border.
Billions of gallons of water tainted with raw sewage, toxic waste and trash flowed in from south of the border and blanketed the basin, but after the water receded, the mess remained.
People like Elizabeth Bagnas, who live in the area, have been waiting patiently for all the debris to get hauled away.
“On top of being annoying, it’s really an eyesore,” she said.
The land now blanketed with buckets, tires, cans, and even desks, is owned by the federal government and is administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission.
The agency, however, says a contractor has been hired to clean up.
“The sod farm cleanup will commence once the sod farm has dried out,” wrote IBWC spokesperson Morgan Rogers. “It is still ponded with water and not capable of supporting heavy equipment needed for cleanup. Mobilization has already occurred with several pieces of equipment delivered from our TX field offices and standing by for drier conditions.”
Bagnas says it’s about time.
“As the sun starts beating down in there, and it dries up, there’s going to be a smell coming out of this pile of trash, you just know it, it’s just a matter of time, but also there’s people that suffer from respiratory problems, like asthma,” she said. “It’s going to be worse, there’s stuff that we don’t see, but what’s in the air, what’s getting in our lungs, what are we breathing in?”
Without a specific timetable, Bagnas worries the cleanup effort will drag on, especially since the rainy season is not over.
“It’s going to be a while before this basin dries out and they can clean it up.”
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