Arizona lawmakers seek solution to sewage leak in two southern cities

PHOENIX — U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake and Rep. Martha McSally are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and the International Boundary Water Commission to address the sewage flow that is plaguing two Arizona cities.

The raw sewage stemming from Naco, Sonora, Mexico has been affecting residents in both Naco and Bisbee for years, the lawmakers wrote, posing a “health, safety, and economic risk to Arizona’s vulnerable border towns.”

“Between the flooded farms of Naco, Arizona and the broken pipeline in Nogales, Arizona, it is clear to us that coordination and communication between federal organizations and the communities they serve must be improved,” the lawmakers wrote.

McCain, Flake and McSally are requesting information on the measures at the agencies are planning to take to monitor the sewage spills, respond to immediate issues and mitigate future impact, according to a press release.

In the letter to Alexis Strauss, the acting regional administrator for the EPA, the lawmakers said the spillage is contaminating the agriculture, livestock and drinking water of Arizona residents and that the “economic impact of slow moving bureaucracy” can be “devastating” to them.

In the letter to IBWC Commissioner Ed Drusina, the lawmakers stressed that it is the department’s responsibility to “monitor and coordinate such international projects” and asked for more information on what the department is doing to address the issue.

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