CA SJR18

Requests the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct further investigation into potential health impacts from pollution in the Tijuana River, which flows from Mexico into California and the Pacific Ocean.

Identifies decades of pollution including trash, sediment, and wastewater discharge from Mexico side, with a January storm surge releasing 14.5 billion gallons of raw sewage into the river and nearby coastal wetlands.

Documents Imperial Beach declaring a continued state of emergency since 2017 due to raw sewage from Tijuana, with 101 beach closure days in 2018, 243 days in 2019, 295 days in 2020, and 246 days in 2021, with the beach remaining closed since December 2021.

Reports Scripps Institution research attributing 34,000 annual illnesses to water quality pollution at Imperial Beach and linking up to 76 percent of bacteria in beach air to cross-border water pollution, plus documented cases of flesh-eating bacteria and dangerous pathogens.

Directs transmission of the resolution to the CDC Director, HHS Secretary, congressional leadership, and California's congressional delegation.