I.B. ready to sue

The clues are splattered over the documents for the meeting Wednesday night: IB's city council is positioning itself to sue over sewage.

The Wednesday meeting agenda shows that, on June 7, in a part of the meeting closed to public view, the city council voted unanimously to commence litigation. On Wednesday night, they'll agree to hire the San Francisco law firm of Sher Edling, whose website says: Sher Edling LLP represents businesses, cities and other public agencies in high-impact, high-value environmental cases. We combine decades of top level litigation and trial experience with an unwavering dedication to hold polluters accountable for the damage they cause."

The firm specializes in climate change, water contamination, land contamination and loss of bees litigation. "Those who contaminate our water supplies should have to pay those costs – not the landowners, residents and businesses who are victimized by the pollution."

Several massive sewage dumps from Tijuana since February and as recently as May, have the council displaying a fury rarely seen in government — though the two loudest voices are also top players in the environmental groups, Wildcoast and Surfrider. The sewage eventually washed down the Tijuana River and into the ocean, prompting beach closures as far away as Coronado.

The step towards litigation hasn't been much of a secret.

On June 10, Mayor Serge Dedina, with councilman Mark West as his wingman, told an environmental justice confab that "the reality is that the recovery team is not working, we need legal action," Dedina said. "The EPA is not doing its job. The U.S. Attorney's Office is not doing its job, the IBWC is not doing its job, the U.S. Congress is not doing its job......"

Dedina has long called for the resignation of the International Boundary and Water Commission head, Edward Drusina. The commission and Drusina have not responded. He and West have also held a series of rallies with angry IB residents, working up what one activist calls "citizen rage."

But at the same time the council will decide to retain the firm - who the city will target, whether it will be federal agencies including the EPA and/or the International Boundary and Water Commission or Tijuana or the state of Baja California, has not been revealed.

West declined to identify who the city plans to sue because the matter is still in the decision-making process. But, he confirmed there will be a lawsuit.