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News At Tijuana River Cleanup Citizens Group Gives Key Recomendations
[Tijuana River citizens council]
On Saturday, over 200 residents from across the South Bay came together in the Tijuana River Valley County Regional Park to clean up the public trails and give key recommendations to reduce the public health, environmental, and economic impacts of the notoriously polluted river.
by Serge Dedina
13/06/2008:// The event was organized by the Tijuana River Citizens' Council (TRCC), which formed to address the environmental, public health, and economic impacts from Tijuana River pollution.
In southern San Diego County, the park and local beaches offer residents and visitors healthy outdoor recreation opportunities. Yet, trash and sewage from the Tijuana River have so heavily degraded parts of these public parks that many have become unsafe.
Paloma Aguirre, the Tijuana River Citizens' Council's President, explained that the group was formed to represent the needs of everyone for a healthy Tijuana River and includes youth, families, individuals, and business owners. "To effectively and comprehensively deal with the challenges of the Tijuana River we need to involve everyone impacted- from ranchers to surfers to border patrol and high school students," said Aguirre.
The Council was convened by WiLDCOAST, a local Imperial Beach nonprofit, which continues to coordinate and facilitate the group's efforts. At a press conference during the event, the President of the TRCC gave the Council's 5 recommendations to reduce and eliminate the impacts of Tijuana River pollution:
1. Work on bi-national projects with Tijuana to reduce the flows of trash, sediment and wastewater across the border. 2. Prioritize the development of accepted pollutant levels (TMDLs) for California's portion of the Tijuana River watershed. 3. Increase collaboration among the County, City, State and Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the Tijuana River. 4. Carry out research to better understand the public health impacts of Tijuana River pollution. 5. Continue and expand the use of real-time technology to track the flow of Tijuana River contamination to proactively protect the health of beach users.
Local elected officials were also on hand to support the event and the Council's recommendations. "I am proud to take part in this important project," said San Diego City Councilman Ben Hueso, "The Tijuana River Valley is one of the most important coastal assets in the region. Outside factors have compromised its integrity. With clean-up efforts like these, we take significant steps toward its recovery. As Councilman and Coastal Commissioner, I am committed to improving our floodplain's water quality and surrounding natural habitat."
County Supervisor Greg Cox, and Assemblywoman Mary Salas also spoke about meeting the unique challenges of protecting the river valley and the local south San Diego County community from the environmental and public health impacts of Tijuana River pollution.
The cleanup event was supported by WiLDCOAST, REI, the County of San Diego, and the office of Congressman Ben Hueso.
To learn more about the Tijuana River Citizens' Council and how you can get involved, contact Paloma at trcc.paloma@gmail.com or Ben at ben@wildcoast.net
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