Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of the Navy should take a leading role in the mitigation of cross-border spills, discharges, and debris in the Tijuana River that impact national security interests of the United States.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 511 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of the Navy should take a leading role in the mitigation of cross- border spills, discharges, and debris in the Tijuana River that impact national security interests of the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2019 Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. VARGAS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of the Navy should take a leading role in the mitigation of cross-border spills, discharges, and debris in the Tijuana River that impact national security interests of the United States. Whereas runoff crossing the United States-Mexico border poses significant environmental and public health risks; Whereas discharges of raw sewage into the Tijuana River have required Navy in-water military training in the vi- cinity of Coronado, California, to be shifted to other loca- tions due to health and safety concerns; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR511.IH HR511 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 511 IH Whereas the $1,000,000,000 Navy SEAL training center, Naval Base Coronado Coastal Campus, is located less than three miles from the mouth of the Tijuana River; Whereas sewage spills and debris, such as discarded tires, often clog the river channel, causing substantial erosion along the perimeter of the Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NOLFIB), which has threatened the in- stallation’s perimeter fencing and resulted in the Navy developing a project to reinforce the riverbank and relo- cate portions of Navy fencing; Whereas such discharges also cause secondary impacts to local Navy operations, such as beach closures at Naval Base Coronado in areas that are prime nesting grounds for the Western Snowy Plover and the California Least Tern; Whereas increased regulatory actions by State and Federal environmental protection agencies may be levied if the quality and safety of these species’ nesting areas are af- fected, which will negatively constrain military activities in these areas; and Whereas Congress is concerned that future spills, discharges, and debris from the Tijuana River may have more sig- nificant impacts on the military installations and oper- ations in the San Diego region: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that the Department of the Navy should take 2 a leading role in the mitigation of cross-border spills, dis- 3 charges, and debris in the Tijuana River that impact na- 4 tional security interests of the United States. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Jul 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR511.IH HR511 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS