Sen. Blakespear’s Bill to Protect Workers from Tijuana River Valley Pollution Passes Committee

Sen. Blakespear visited a pollution "hot spot" along the Tijuana River in Imperial Beach in December 2025.  

SACRAMENTO – Legislation by Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear, D-Encinitas, to protect workers from ongoing pollution in the Tijuana River Valley passed Wednesday in the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee.

SB 1046 would set safety standards for workers exposed to hazardous, transboundary pollution that crosses the California-Mexico border. The Tijuana River transports millions of gallons of untreated wastewater, including sewage and industrial waste, from Tijuana into California every year. This decades-old problem has plagued the South Bay coastline with more than 1,300 consecutive days of beach closures.

“It’s foul-smelling and not safe to be in the Tijuana River Valley where untreated wastewater is poisoning the water, air and surrounding soil,” Sen. Blakespear said. “For any state workers required to be nearby, they should be protected from exposure and not forced to suffer damage to their own personal health for doing their jobs.”

SB 1046 directs CalOSHA to develop workplace standards for minimizing exposure to transboundary pollution, including adopting requirements for personal protective equipment,

hazard communication, incident reporting and trainings. 

The guidelines are to be developed with input from communities exposed to the pollution as well as lifeguards, park rangers, local governments, labor unions, air districts and academic experts. 

Research shows that pollutants from the Tijuana River’s contaminated water aerosolize, entering the air and causing health impacts in nearby communities. The contaminated air can contain high levels of hydrogen sulfide, a dangerous, odor-causing gas. Heavy rain and flooding, which has become increasingly common due to climate change, make it worse.

Exposure can result in gastrointestinal illness, skin infections and respiratory and neurological disorders. Workers in the Tijuana River Valley have experienced headaches, fatigue, nausea and bloody noses.

In December, Sen. Blakespear held a joint state legislative hearing with the Senate Environmental Quality Committee‚ which she chairs‚ and the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee to explore the Tijuana River Valley pollution problem. Afterward, Sen. Blakespear visited a pollution “hot spot” in Imperial Beach.

In February, Sen. Blakespear participated in a roundtable discussion held by two federal agencies – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Small Business Administration (SBA) – to better understand the problems created by the pollution and what can be done about them.

Sen. Blakespear represents Senate District 38, which covers northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. To learn more about the district and Sen. Blakespear, visit her Senate website.