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Mexico Border Sewage Deal Hits the Rocks
By ALLISON HOFFMAN
Associated Press Writer
IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- When it rains along the border, millions of gallons of sewage and industrial waste from Mexican slums and factories flow down the Tijuana River into the United States and end up in the Pacific Ocean - a mess that closed the beach here to swimmers and surfers a total of 198 days last year.
The U.S. government once thought it had the solution: pay a developer an estimated $700 million to build and operate a treatment plant in Tijuana, Mexico. Under the agreement, if the plant could sell clean water to Mexican factories, U.S. taxpayers would get some of their money back by taking a share of the proceeds.
But seven years later, ground has yet to be broken. And the agreement between the U.S. and Bajagua LLC is looking more fragile than ever amid growing criticism that the no-bid contract would fatten the developer's pockets and fail to contain the sewage.
This month, the Bush administration proposed a treatment plant on U.S. soil - which would effectively kill the Mexico venture.
From the outset, state and federal regulators have had their doubts about the wisdom of the deal with Bajagua, a new partnership with limited know-how handling complicated binational projects. And government watchdogs and others have raised questions about the campaign contributions Bajagua has showered on Capitol Hill.
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Bajagua was founded in the late 1990s by San Diego land-use consultant Jim Simmons and Mexican real-estate developer Enrique Landa after the U.S. government stumbled in its efforts to treat Tijuana's runaway sewage.
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Representing Imperial Beach in Congress, Bilbray co-sponsored Filner's successful 2000 legislation to build a sewage plant in Mexico. After losing a re-election bid, Bilbray testified in Congress in support of Bajagua in 2001, without disclosing that he was a lobbyist for the company. Bilbray was elected to Congress last year in another district.
Recipients of Bajagua's donations include Bilbray; Southern California Reps. Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis; President Bush's 2004 campaign; and Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees. Vice President Dick Cheney's office arranged meetings in Washington to smooth negotiations on the project, according to Simmons.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BORDER_SEWAGE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
By ALLISON HOFFMAN
Associated Press Writer
IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- When it rains along the border, millions of gallons of sewage and industrial waste from Mexican slums and factories flow down the Tijuana River into the United States and end up in the Pacific Ocean - a mess that closed the beach here to swimmers and surfers a total of 198 days last year.
The U.S. government once thought it had the solution: pay a developer an estimated $700 million to build and operate a treatment plant in Tijuana, Mexico. Under the agreement, if the plant could sell clean water to Mexican factories, U.S. taxpayers would get some of their money back by taking a share of the proceeds.
But seven years later, ground has yet to be broken. And the agreement between the U.S. and Bajagua LLC is looking more fragile than ever amid growing criticism that the no-bid contract would fatten the developer's pockets and fail to contain the sewage.
This month, the Bush administration proposed a treatment plant on U.S. soil - which would effectively kill the Mexico venture.
From the outset, state and federal regulators have had their doubts about the wisdom of the deal with Bajagua, a new partnership with limited know-how handling complicated binational projects. And government watchdogs and others have raised questions about the campaign contributions Bajagua has showered on Capitol Hill.
~
Bajagua was founded in the late 1990s by San Diego land-use consultant Jim Simmons and Mexican real-estate developer Enrique Landa after the U.S. government stumbled in its efforts to treat Tijuana's runaway sewage.
~
Representing Imperial Beach in Congress, Bilbray co-sponsored Filner's successful 2000 legislation to build a sewage plant in Mexico. After losing a re-election bid, Bilbray testified in Congress in support of Bajagua in 2001, without disclosing that he was a lobbyist for the company. Bilbray was elected to Congress last year in another district.
Recipients of Bajagua's donations include Bilbray; Southern California Reps. Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis; President Bush's 2004 campaign; and Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees. Vice President Dick Cheney's office arranged meetings in Washington to smooth negotiations on the project, according to Simmons.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BORDER_SEWAGE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US