On December 15, 2025, the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) signed Minute 333, billing it as "Comprehensive Actions to Address the Border Sanitation Problem." Citizens for Coastal Conservancy has analyzed the ten-page document, and our conclusion is damning: Minute 333 is a shallow recycling of 35 years of failed commitments that funds consultant studies instead of implementing proven solutions.
The Same Broken Promise Since 1990
Minute 333 opens by referencing Minute 283 from July 2, 1990—35 years ago—which promised that "The Government of Mexico will assure that there are no discharges of treated or untreated domestic or industrial wastewaters into waters of the Tijuana River that cross the international boundary." The document acknowledges that despite this commitment, sewage has flowed across the border every single day for over three decades.
Rather than holding Mexico accountable for breaking this foundational promise, Minute 333 simply repeats the same commitment with new bureaucratic language. When a promise fails for 35 years, repeating it doesn't make it credible—it makes it a lie.
The document also references Minute 258 from 1977—48 years ago—which required each government to "operate and maintain at its expense the part of the channelization project located in its territory." Minute 333 admits that "lack of financial resources to perform adequate O&M has led to deterioration of the region's sanitation infrastructure." Translation: Mexico didn't maintain the infrastructure for half a century, and now US taxpayers are expected to fund the repairs through "cost-sharing formulas."
The July 24, 2025 MOU: Studies, Not Solutions
The core of Minute 333 is the July 24, 2025 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by EPA Administrator Lee M. Zeldin and Mexico's Secretary of Environment Alicia Bárcena Ibarra. This MOU lists 13 items that Minute 333 formalizes as official resolutions. C4CC has analyzed each item to determine whether it represents a real project or just another study. The results are shocking: 10 out of 13 items are studies, evaluations, or planning exercises with no tangible construction committed.
Studies Disguised as Action
Item A calls for yet another "engineering and financial feasibility study" for an ocean outfall at the San Antonio de los Buenos (SAB) wastewater treatment plant in Tijuana. The document admits this is "building upon prior studies conducted by the North American Development Bank (NADBank)." How many feasibility studies does one ocean outfall require? More importantly, SAB sewage discharges into Mexican waters and has zero effect on US beaches—this entire study is irrelevant to solving our crisis.
Item B proposes a "technical and financial feasibility study" to expand the SAB plant from 18.26 million gallons per day (MGD) to 43.37 MGD. Here's the kicker: this plant expansion was supposed to be built in the 1990s. Thirty-five years later, we're still conducting feasibility studies instead of breaking ground.
Item E promises to "develop and encourage consistent implementation of best practices" for stormwater management. This is pure bureaucratic theater—workshops and information sharing with no enforcement mechanism, no funding commitment, and no tangible project. It's the equivalent of saying "we encourage people to be better" and calling it a solution.
Item G commits to "develop a routine schedule and cost-sharing formula for cleaning and sediment dredging operations in the Tijuana River." Notice the language: not "clean the river," but "develop a schedule" to clean the river. They're not even promising to do the work—just to plan the planning.
Item H is perhaps the most absurd: "Share information from Mexico with the United States on the anticipated additional flows to the Tijuana wastewater system from the proposed Rosarito Desalination Plant." This isn't a project. It's not even a study. It's literally just agreeing to share information about a completely different project that might add more sewage flows in the future.
Item I calls for evaluating "supplementary treatment for the SAB WWTP effluent (e.g., ozonation for disinfection, odor control, and reduction of chemical usage)." The Minute 333 Work Group has 12 months just to report back on this evaluation. Meanwhile, Imperial Beach has been closed for over 1,000 consecutive days.
Item K proposes developing a "Tijuana water infrastructure master plan to ensure that sufficient water infrastructure is planned and constructed commensurate with anticipated population growth." This sounds promising until you realize it's focused on drinking water infrastructure, not sewage infrastructure. The document makes no mention of a sewage infrastructure master plan, which is the actual problem causing cross-border pollution.
Item L commits to "conduct a comprehensive mass balance flow analysis of the Tijuana water system." This is particularly galling because the Arcadis Report already conducted this exact analysis. Why are we funding a redundant study when the data already exists? The answer is simple: consultant contracts and bureaucratic delay.
Item M promises to "develop a transparent and real-time binational monitoring system" for the Tijuana River. Once again, this was already included in the Settlement Agreement and the Arcadis USMCA Project. We don't need to develop it—we need to implement what's already been developed.
The Two "Real" Projects That Won't Help
Only two items in Minute 333 involve actual construction, and neither will reduce sewage flowing into US waters.
Item C commits to constructing a sediment basin at Matadero Canyon (Smuggler's Gulch) before the 2026-2027 rainy season. While sediment control is important, this project will actually bring more sewage to the USA by capturing sediment but not sewage flows. The document provides no engineering plans, no design specifications—just the vague intention to build something.
Item D announces construction of the Tecolote-La Gloria Wastewater Treatment Plant with a capacity of 3 MGD, located 5 miles south of the border, with completion by December 2028. This sounds substantial until you understand the geography: Tecolote-La Gloria has no Tijuana River inputs and doesn't affect the ocean sewage reaching Imperial Beach. It's a real project that solves a problem we don't have.
Who's Getting Paid?
Item J proposes creating an "Operations and Maintenance (O&M) account at the North American Development Bank (NADBank) which would set aside a portion of all dollars provided to Mexico to be held for future O&M costs." The document admits that "lack of financial resources to perform adequate O&M has led to deterioration of the region's sanitation infrastructure."
Here's the critical question Minute 333 doesn't answer: Where does this money come from? The document is silent on funding sources, but the pattern is clear: US taxpayers will fund Mexico's infrastructure maintenance through NADBank while consultants and NGOs collect fees for conducting endless feasibility studies.
The Minute 333 Work Group has 12 months just to "present recommendations" on how this O&M account might work. Meanwhile, sewage continues to flow, beaches remain closed, and local economies collapse.
The PBCILA Solution: Conspicuously Absent
The most damning aspect of Minute 333 is what it doesn't mention: operating the existing PBCILA (Punta Bandera Collector Interceptor and Lift Station) pumps at full capacity 24/7.
C4CC has extensively documented that increasing PBCILA diversion capacity from 1,000 liters per second to 2,600 lps would reduce transboundary sewage flow days from 138 to just 30 per year—a 78% reduction using existing infrastructure. This solution requires no new construction, no feasibility studies, no binational work groups. It requires Mexico to operate and maintain the pumps that already exist.
Minute 333 makes zero mention of PBCILA operations. Instead, it proposes three more years of studies, evaluations, and planning exercises while Imperial Beach suffers its fourth consecutive year of beach closures.
Why ignore the proven solution? Because PBCILA 24/7 operations would actually solve the problem, and solving the problem would eliminate the justification for endless consultant contracts, NGO funding, and bureaucratic empire-building.
No Enforcement, No Accountability
Buried on page 9 of Minute 333 is Resolution 12, which states: "All activities undertaken pursuant to this Minute shall be subject to the availability of funds, resources, and corresponding personnel, as well as to applicable laws and regulations in each country."
This single sentence renders the entire document meaningless. Every commitment is conditional. Every promise has an escape clause. If Mexico decides it doesn't have the funds, resources, or personnel to fulfill any item in Minute 333, there are no consequences.
Compare this to the 1990 Minute 283 promise that Mexico would "assure that there are no discharges" across the border. That promise was broken for 35 consecutive years with zero accountability. Minute 333 doesn't even pretend to include enforcement mechanisms—it explicitly states that all commitments are subject to availability of resources.
The Cycle of Failure
Minute 333 follows a predictable pattern that has repeated for nearly four decades:
- Crisis escalates → Sewage flows increase, beach closures multiply, public health deteriorates
- Governments meet → IBWC convenes, commissioners express concern, stakeholders are consulted
- New minute order signed → Document promises "comprehensive action" and "binational cooperation"
- Studies commissioned → Consultants hired to conduct feasibility studies, master plans, evaluations
- Years pass → Timelines extend, scopes of work are developed, work groups meet quarterly
- Nothing changes → Infrastructure continues to fail, sewage keeps flowing, beaches stay closed
- New crisis declared → Repeat cycle with new minute order number
We've seen this pattern with Minute 283 (1990), Minute 320 (2015), Minute 328 (2022), and now Minute 333 (2025). Each new minute order references the failures of previous minute orders while promising that this time will be different. It never is.
What Imperial Beach Needs vs. What Minute 333 Delivers
What Imperial Beach needs:
- Immediate operation of PBCILA pumps at full capacity 24/7
- Enforcement of Mexico's 1990 commitment to stop cross-border sewage discharges
- Accountability mechanisms with financial penalties for non-compliance
- Real-time monitoring of sewage flows with public data transparency
- Emergency response protocols for sewage spills and infrastructure failures
What Minute 333 delivers:
- 10 more feasibility studies and planning exercises
- 3-12 month timelines just to develop scopes of work
- Two construction projects that don't reduce sewage reaching US waters
- Zero mention of PBCILA 24/7 operations
- No enforcement mechanisms or accountability measures
- All commitments subject to "availability of funds"
C4CC's Position
Citizens for Coastal Conservancy rejects Minute 333 as inadequate, unserious, and insulting to the South Bay communities that have suffered for over 1,000 consecutive days of beach closures.
We demand:
- Immediate PBCILA 24/7 operations using existing infrastructure to achieve 78% reduction in transboundary sewage flows
- Enforcement of Minute 283 with financial penalties for Mexico's 35 years of non-compliance
- Cancellation of redundant studies that duplicate existing Arcadis and Settlement Agreement analyses
- Reallocation of study funds to infrastructure operations and maintenance
- Public accountability with quarterly reporting on sewage flow volumes, pump operations, and infrastructure status
- US Congressional oversight to ensure EPA and IBWC prioritize solutions over studies
Minute 333 proves that the institutional approach to the Tijuana River sewage crisis is fundamentally broken. After 35 years of failed promises, it's time to stop studying the problem and start implementing the solution we already have.
The PBCILA pumps exist. The data proves they work. Operate them 24/7, or admit you never intended to solve this crisis.
Learn about our track record of accurate predictions → [blocked]
Citizens for Coastal Conservancy is the only local nonprofit organization in the Tijuana River watershed advocating for proven, cost-effective solutions to permanently end cross-border sewage pollution.