FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Run-Off from Poor Construction Threatens San Diego’s Internationally-Recognized Wetlands and Wildlife Preserve

Just days after the Government Accountability Office issued a report saying the federal government will spend $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain a fence along the border with Mexico, Clay Phillips, the Reserve Manager at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, says erosion from border wall construction near the coast in San Diego presents an immediate threat to the vitality of the Tijuana Estuary, the largest un-bisected coastal wetland in southern California. 

On September 18 Phillips sent a strongly worded letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for the construction project that saw over 3 million cubic yards of earth moved into canyons along the border.  The letter describes efforts by the Department of Homeland Security, now owner of the federalized land, to stabilize the “cut and fill slopes” alongside the Estuary as having “failed miserably.”  

“Circumstances that could lead to an environmental disaster are in place,” Phillips wrote. (Full text of letter below.)

“Whether it’s an El Nino year or a normal rainy season,” Phillips said in subsequent correspondence to constituents, “the barren slopes of the Border Infrastructure Project present a serious threat to the Tijuana River Estuary and the entire Tijuana River Valley.  Heroic erosion-control efforts must begin immediately to assure that we don’t experience serious sedimentation / destruction of our world-class estuary and/or flooding of the river valley.”

CONTACTS:

Clayton Phillips

South Sector Superintendent & Reserve Manager

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Silver Strand State Beach, Border Field State Park

cphillip@parks.ca.gov

 (619) 575-3613 x303

 (619) 701-3695 cell

John Fanestil

Foundation for Change

Friends of Friendship Park

john@foundation4change.org           

 (619) 823-6223

*****************  LETTER **********************

September 18, 2009

Colonel Anthony Funkhouser

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Southwestern Division,
1100 Commerce Street, Suite 831
Dallas, TX 75242-1317

Dear Colonel Funkhouser,

I am writing to express grave concerns about the current condition of the cut and fill slopes that were created as part of the Border Infrastructure Project here in San Diego County.  Over nine months ago, the Army Corps’ contractor began revegetating the slopes.  These efforts have failed miserably; the slopes are essentially bare as we approach the rainy season.  I have attached photos taken two weeks ago.  It appears that the slopes were constructed with no irrigation and there does not appear to have been any other kind of supplemental watering.  It is not surprising that the planting attempts failed.

A few weeks ago, the slopes were re-treated with hydroseed, but I fear it will be too late; there might not be enough time for effective germination and root penetration to stabilize the slopes.   There will need to be a heroic effort to prepare for even a normal rainy season, perhaps using other erosion control measures in addition to the plantings. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has determined that El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean may bring above-average rainfall this coming winter season.

Though last winter season had moderate rainfall, the Tijuana River Valley experienced some of its worst flooding in decades.  There was property damage and a number of horses died. We believe that the cut and fill slopes of the Border Infrastructure Project may have contributed greatly to the flooding that occurred.  The newly cut slopes suffered serious erosion which resulted in sediment-laden storm-water that clogged channels.  In addition, new culverts under the new border fence conveyed storm-water at much higher velocities than normal flows, further exacerbating erosion of natural channels immediately downstream of the culverts. With El Nino conditions, the threat of catastrophic flooding is much higher. The last El Nino season (2004/05) dumped over 4“of early season rain at the end of October.  

Downstream of the Border Infrastructure Project, The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is an ecological treasure of the San Diego region.  It is the largest un-bisected coastal wetland in southern California and is one of only 25 wetlands in the entire United States that is formally designated as a “Wetland of International Importance”.  For over 25 years, NOAA and California State Parks have worked together to protect and enhance the Reserve.

Sediment can be a deadly enemy to an estuary; it can choke tidal channels and prevent the twice-daily exchange of fresh and salt water that make these coastal wetlands so special.  During the storms of 04/05, 18 acres of salt marsh were covered in sediment. In construction of the Border Infrastructure Project, 3.1 million cubic yards of earth were moved, creating a huge sediment source next to the Research Reserve. It has always been assumed that the Army Corps of Engineers and the landowner, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), would take all steps necessary to ensure that the cut and fill slopes created by the project are stable and would not erode.  Nine months later, that has not happened.

On September 14, 2005, then-DHS Secretary Chertoff exercised the authority granted by Congress to waive certain legal requirements necessary to ensure expeditious completion of the 14-mile Border Infrastructure Project.  In so doing, he also committed to protecting the environment:

•  He instructed DHS to proceed in a manner that will limit the environmental impact .
• “The Department of Homeland Security is not compromising its commitment to responsible environmental stewardship in the area,” said Chertoff. “We will act in an environmentally responsible manner consistent with the security needs of the nation.”
•  “DHS will continue to work in a consistent manner as it completes construction of the BIS with minimal impacts on the environment as possible and a renewed commitment to:
• Establish several erosion control measures for addressing sediment in the Tijuana River;
• Implement measures to slow and capture watershed sediment before it enters estuaries;
• Will reduce, if not eliminate, possibility of slides due to tiered, stair-stepped, construction to ensure stability of slopes;”

The bare slopes of the Border Infrastructure Project now stand in stark contrast to the commitments made by Secretary Chertoff.  For the sake of the Research Reserve and the public who live in and visit the Tijuana River Valley, we encourage you to complete and maintain the fence project as it was originally proposed, with a full array of erosion-control safeguards and a long-term commitment to irrigation, maintenance and habitat restoration of the cut and fill slopes. Circumstances that could lead to an environmental disaster are in place.  Army Corps’ efforts this fall could ensure that the Border Infrastructure Project remains stable and does not contribute to flooding of the river valley or sedimentation of our internationally important estuary.

Clayton Phillips, Manager

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Cc: Honorable Senator Dianne Feinstein

            Honorable Senator Barbara Boxer

            Honorable Representative Susan Davis

            Honorable Representative Bob Filner

            David Kennedy, NOAA

            Michael J. Fisher, Customs and Border Patrol, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent

            Ronilee Clark, California State Parks, San Diego Coast District Superintendent