Governor Again Puts Ax to Border Sewage Cleanup

Signaling again that he does not want California to pay for pollution problems along the Mexican border, Gov. George Deukmejian eliminated a $1-million study of the New River from a toxic cleanup bill.

The action was seen as a sign that next year’s major legislative effort to clean up sewage and toxic contaminants from Mexico may face Deukmejian’s opposition, even in an election year.

“It is not a good sign,” said Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista), who represents the international border area in San Diego and Imperial counties.

In his strongest statement yet, Deukmejian reiterated that the federal government and Mexico should take the lead in the border cleanup. “It is inappropriate for this state to unilaterally deal with this problem,” Deukmejian said.

Peace, who had added money for a New River engineering study to a cleanup bill for the Stringfellow waste site in Riverside County, was angered by the governor’s action.

“I guess if somebody dies, he’s going to tell them it was a Mexican problem,” Peace said. “I’m sure that will make their survivors feel just great.”

Peace said the federal government and Mexico are “doing the same thing they have been doing for 30 years. They are just talking about it.”

He said that the recent earthquakes that devastated Mexico City further reduce the likelihood that the Mexican government will do anything about toxic pollution and sewage flowing across the border.

“If people are going to cling to this vitriolic notion that Mexico should solve the problem, then it will never be solved,” said Peace. “Mexico is not going to do it. . . . The stuff runs downhill. And unfortunately, we are downhill.”

Deukmejian has said he will study what the two national governments are doing before deciding whether he will support a complex border cleanup package sponsored by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

Brown’s bill, which awaits action in the Senate, would appropriate $15 million for studies and emergency health threats. It also calls for a $150-million voter-approved bond issue to deal with border sewage and pollution problems.

Although three years ago Deukmejian approved $5 million for the City of San Diego to tackle border sewage problems, he has consistently said he does not feel California should take the lead in cleaning up pollution that comes from the other side of the border.

Peace said he suspects political motivations might explain why Deukmejian approved money for San Diego, where he enjoyed heavy support in his race for governor, but rejected “a paltry $1 million” for sparsely populated Imperial County.

Peace said the money would have been used to identify contaminants in the river and devise means of neutralizing or removing them. Peace said Imperial County simply could not afford to pay for the engineering study.

“All you need is the first cholera outbreak . . . and it is going to cost the state a lot more than a million dollars,” Peace said.

Deukmejian also vetoed a separate bill Wednesday that would have added the New River to the state “superfund” list of the most urgent toxic cleanup projects.