Mexico grants border sewage plant permit |
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Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:44
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SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Mexican government has granted a key permit for a proposed $700 million sewage plant in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, the company said.The approval is a victory for Bajagua LLC, which has been widely criticized for a no-bid contract with the U.S. government that was suspended in May.Bajagua is seeking money from U.S. taxpayers to build a plant in Tijuana that would treat 59 million gallons of Tijuana's sewage daily and recycle a portion of it for industrial use. Critics contend the sewage could be treated less expensively with a plant in San Diego.The privately held company says the proposed plant would stop raw sewage from running north over the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego, where it courses toward the Pacific Ocean. Beaches south of San Diego to swimmers and surfers 198 days last year due to bacterial contamination.In a letter dated Aug. 1, Mexico's National Water Commission granted Bajagua a 30-year concession to build on undeveloped land in eastern Tijuana.The International Boundary and Water Commission, a binational agency that oversees water issues along the U.S.-Mexico border, is under federal court order to ensure that wastewater from Mexican sewage meets U.S. standards by Sept. 30, 2008, a deadline Bajagua has acknowledged it can't meet.In July, some members of San Diego's congressional delegation accused IBWC officials of stalling the project since it was approved by Congress in 2000.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Lawmakers push administration on sewage 