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The public may soon have more clarity on what exactly is wrong with a broken sewage treatment plant along the U.S.-Mexico border.
President Joe Biden’s pick to care for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (or IBWC which treats Tijuana sewage spilling into San Diego) told reporters Thursday she’s “reevaluating” what can be released from a heavily-redacted report on the plant’s condition.
Voice of San Diego sued the IBWC to obtain the report following an unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act request. But the IBWC blacked-out almost all of the new or relevant information that described the plant’s facilities.
Maria-Elena Giner, Biden’s pick to lead the IBWC, said the redactions were rushed and made to protect information that might affect the public bidding process between companies the IBWC might hire to do maintenance work on the plant.
Giner said the IBWC is waiting to hear back from the U.S. Department of Justice on whether the South Bay plant is considered critical infrastructure from a national security perspective. The South Bay plant shares pipes and passages with Mexico, through which Tijuana sends sewage into the plant for treatment.
“We don’t want to put out our plans and specs because we wouldn’t want them to get into the wrong hands,” said Giner. “We’re going back to reevaluate what more we can share.”