June 4, 2009 at Katy’s Cafe in Imperial Beach
Attendees: Roger, John, Dan, Sara, Jay, Belinda, Ben, Jeff, Joseph, Barry
Discussion topics:
1. River Valley Clean up on 6/6: safety issues, giveaways, coalition flyer to be handed out, Jay spoke to Audobon Society regarding their concerns about the nesting birds and that next year the clean up may be scheduled later in the year to avoid the conflict.
2. Coalition Calendar: create joint calendar with other coalition members for planning meetings, events, etc and to avoid scheduling conflicts.
3. Focus for No B.S. business/Coalition related business: The Surfrider No B.S. campaign will focus on outreach and education for members. The Coalition as a group will focus on the solution which is the main objective and the hardest part. And since there is nothing to object to it means coming up with ideas and a plan. The goal being a project that will fix this problem so the voice of the coalition can be directed at something. Includes getting Mexican support which is key. Approaching companies like Coca-Cola in a positive way about being part of the solution. Also need to make the issue controversial enough to get attention (would it be tolerated in Del Mar for example). TRCC to come up with name for the coalition. John is working on summary for the campaign for Alexis Henry (Nat’l office PR)
4. Field Trips to Tijuana to educate coalition members and volunteers need to be organized. Joseph to contact Oscar Romo to schedule. Also tour CESPT (Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana), Tijuana’s water authority and is in charge of water services and wastewater collection and treatment. Need to come up with weekday dates so Ben can work on planning a visit. Also need to make contacts (both US and Mexico) and get plugged in regarding the maquila zone that runs along our where all the American and International factories are located. They are basically there to take advantage of cheaper labor, and no laws to protect the environment. Not only is sewage and solid waste coming across the border but highly toxic chemicals and debris from these factories.
5. Create some type of forum (twitter/blog) with public access where people can report smelly events
6. Testing Methods: need better testing methods current tests aren’t picking up the bacteria. Water is technically not polluted since it has been treated with chlorine. Need to contact/acquire experts/forensics to work for our side to get the bacterial data to back up the polluted water claim. Possible to test for another chemical marker as opposed to bacteria to prove its coming from Mexico. Approach Clay Clifton about research (long time Surfrider Foundation volunteer helped with Blue Water Task Force and was hired by the city develop their program).
7. Policy training for No BS and coalition members - put together a presentation that can be shown once a month.
8. Call Doug at EPA regarding sludge disposal from the San Ysidro plant. Petition Feinstein’s office for the funds.
SAN DIEGO - By noon, the 250 work weary, sweaty volunteers who had come to help make a dent in the trash that litters the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park had filled 2 large trash containers with hundreds of tires and a third with trash. Residents of the Tijuana River Valley and environmentalists said tons of trash is the primary reason for major flooding each winter, and the source for much of San Diego's beach closures. "We have water, very dirty water, polluted water, trash and debris coming across the border from Mexico and littering the valley," said Jay Novak with the Tijuana River Citizen's Council. Novak, who is a surfboard maker and surfs the waters near Imperial Beach, said his business has suffered as a result of constant beach closures. So has his health. He believes an ear infection 13 years ago that ruptured both eardrums happened because he surfed in contaminated water. "I used to go out even when the water was dirty, because my enthusiasm was more than my safety concerns," he said. Now he is involved with a group to help clean up the area. Not a task for the faint of heart. During the 4 hour period volunteers worked, they collected and piled up, by one person's accounting more than 600 tires. Surprisingly, one environmentalist said many of the tires flowing back across the border were once on cars driven on California roadways. "A lot of those tires actually originated in California," said Ben McCue with Wildcoast, an international non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve coastal ecosystems in California and Latin America. "Went over to Mexico, were not disposed of correctly and many came back here." McCue said it is a problem a local senator is attempting to fix. "Senator Ducheny has a tire bill, currently that is in the legislature, it looks like it might have a good chance of passing," he said. "And it will allow the state of California to work with Mexico to break the tire cycle." Until that happens, volunteers will continue to do what they can to lessen the trash load. "We barely even made a dent. There is just tons of tires that have just been through the years built and built up," said Dan Murphy, a volunteer with Surfrider Foundation. "We are basically just touching the surface right now."
Perette Godwin Reporter
