Toxic gas invaded South Bay again Sunday night.  

Levels of hydrogen sulfide spewing from the sewage-polluted Tijuana River exceeded what the state says is safe for sensitive groups like children and the elderly in Nestor and San Ysidro. The San Diego Air Pollution Control District alerted the community, but that’s the extent of the authority air pollution cops say they have. 

That could change if the California Legislature approves a bill by State Sen. Steve Padilla, a Democrat representing District 18.  

Padilla’s bill, SB 58, would require the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to develop a new public health hydrogen sulfide standard, direct the state to hold public workshops on the matter locally, and give more power to local air pollution control districts to protect the public from harm. (The bill doesn’t specify how, though).  

“We don’t have a standard that reflects the current science,” Padilla told the State Senate Committee on Environmental Quality in January. The state needs to “lower the standard and strengthen enforcement,” Padilla said. 

Right now, the San Diego’s Air Pollution Control District alerts the community if hydrogen sulfide reaches a concentration of 30 ppb – meaning 30 particles of hydrogen sulfide per billion particles of air. 

But research suggests that threshold is way too high. EPA officials have said that prolonged exposure to just 1.4 ppb of hydrogen sulfide could make people sick. One local public health expert says that should be the new standard. 

But there is no official federal standard for regulating hydrogen sulfide – the oil and gas industry (the largest man-made source of the gas) made sure of that in the early 1990s. Without federal guidance, almost every U.S. state that regulates the gas disagrees on how much hydrogen sulfide is dangerous over a given period of time. 

The best science available comes from old experiments on rats exposed to hydrogen sulfide for six hours a day for 10 weeks. Those rats developed lesions in their nostrils. Few scientific studies, beyond the rat tests, have shown what could happen to the human body under such low-level gas exposure conditions over months to a year.      

I found no agreement among federal, state or local public health officials back in December over how much hydrogen sulfide gas exposure is too much.  

With improved scientific techniques for monitoring hydrogen sulfide, the people of South Bay are now, unfortunately, the new proverbial lab rats.  

Data is pouring in from hydrogen sulfide sensors in the Tijuana River Valley and the Salton Sea, a drying desert lake fed by agricultural runoff in Imperial Valley, both hydrogen sulfide hotspots in Padilla’s district. We now know the extent of the problem.  

But Padilla’s bill could face challenges from the energy industry. Calpine Corporation, a privately-held natural gas and geothermal power company, logged concerns at the committee hearing.  

“We just want to watch this and make sure it doesn’t have implications to the geothermal industry,” said Theo Pahos, representing Calpine at the January hearing.  

The bill already passed the Senate on January 26. It awaits hearings in the California Assembly. 

• inewsource ran a three-part series unpacking the story behind the developer of the proposed, highly controversial data center in Imperial Valley and its impact on the community.  

• Birch Aquarium has a brood of red octopi that may be the first of its kind to procreate in an aquarium. (KPBS) 

• The San Diego County Water Authority sold more of its water supplies, this time to Eastern Municipal Water District of Southern California. (NBC 7) 

• Capital and Main look at how the drying Colorado River could impact Imperial Valley’s massive agricultural economy which has legal rights to river water despite the mounting threat of climate change-fueled drought.  

• San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget includes increased funding for tree trimming, which supposedly helps the city meet its climate action goals. (Union-Tribune) 

• SeaWorld San Diego wants to cut its fireworks shows down by a lot, following our previous reporting on bird deaths. You’re welcome. (Voice of San Diego) 

• Battery developer AES pulled out of its proposed installation outside Escondido after mounting local opposition to the project. (Canary Media) 

• Maura Fox at the Union-Tribune had a bone-cruncher of a trail report describing how scientists from the San Diego Natural History Museum stumbled upon a rare, lunching snake species.  

• And finally, as we all nurse our necks from hopelessly craning to spot the Artemis II splashdown, this week is “Dark Sky Week.” Fox has a rundown of nighttime activities to celebrate when the world is dark and quiet. (Union-Tribune)