By Mike Lee
San Diego Union Tribune
August 11, 2007

A San Marcos company that wants to build a major sewage-treatment plant in Tijuana took a step forward this week after enduring months of setbacks.

Bajagua LLC has long said the proposed facility would help reduce the amount of Mexican sewage that flows into the South Bay and fouls its beaches.

Thursday, the company released a translated copy of a letter from Mexico's National Water Commission. In it, the agency's officials granted the use of federal land for the controversial and delayed Bajagua project.

They also expressed “great interest” in seeing the $170 million construction plan move ahead, according to the translated letter.

The parcel – about 80 acres along the Alamar River in Tijuana – is large enough to house the sewage plant, Bajagua officials said.

Jim Simmons, the company's managing partner, hailed the news as a victory for clean water.

“There were those who have doubted Mexico's support for Bajagua and our ability to get permission to use federal land for this important, binational purpose. Those doubts should now be put to rest,” he said.

But it's still unclear whether Bajagua will get to build its facility.

The U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which is charged with curtailing cross-border pollution, is developing an alternate plan. It seeks to improve treatment of Tijuana's sewage by expanding a wastewater plant in San Ysidro.

Sally Spener, a spokeswoman for the boundary commission, said her agency is evaluating Mexico's land-concession documents and would not comment on them.

In recent weeks, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board said they supported upgrading the San Ysidro plant over building a facility in Mexico.

Treatment upgrades are necessary because the boundary commission's plant in San Ysidro fails to meet Clean Water Act standards. A solution was supposed to be completed by September 2008, but the boundary commission recently said it can't meet that deadline.

Two federal court hearings will be held in coming weeks to sort out the debate about building the Bajagua plant or retrofitting the San Ysidro facility.

On Aug. 24, Bajagua's attorneys are expected to contend that the company should become an official party to the legal proceedings. At a Sept. 14 hearing, a central question will be which project – if any – should get the judge's blessing for a deadline extension.