SD County set to announce Bridget Premont as first pollution crisis chief
San Diego County officials introduced Bridget Premont on Monday as the county's first pollution crisis chief, a newly created position dedicated to addressing the escalating Tijuana River Valley sewage emergency that has plagued the region for years.
Premont will be based at the County Counsel's Office and tasked with coordinating federal, state and local responses to a crisis that has seen more than 200 billion gallons of toxic waste cross into the United States through the Tijuana River Valley since October 2018, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. Over the past five years alone, more than 100 billion gallons of pollutants have been discharged into the river, San Diego County health data confirms.
The contamination has resulted in Imperial Beach beaches remaining closed for more than 1,400 consecutive days as of October 2025, with closures dating back to December 8, 2021. The crisis has also degraded air quality, with a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Science in 2024 finding that hydrogen sulfide levels from sewage contamination exceeded California air quality standards, with nighttime levels measuring thousands of times higher than typical urban air.
Diplomatic and funding experience
Premont brings substantial cross-border experience to the role. From 2017 to 2021, she served as the political and economic chief at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, where she also acted as consul general during that period. Her efforts there helped secure more than $340 million in U.S. and Mexican federal funding to combat cross-border water pollution, according to county officials.
The appointment comes as federal investment in the crisis has intensified. In December 2024, President Biden signed legislation providing $250 million for operational challenges at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, bringing total 2024 federal funding to approximately $650 million. In July 2025, the U.S. and Mexico signed a memorandum of understanding with Mexico committing $93 million for wastewater infrastructure improvements on the Mexican side of the border, part of efforts to resolve the crisis by 2027.
Scope of responsibilities
In her new role, Premont will coordinate with federal, state and local agencies to prioritize planning for local and cross-border infrastructure upgrades. She will advocate to secure federal and state funding through grants or appropriations for sewage crisis mitigation, and coordinate real-time emergency response when sewage discharges spike.
Premont will also chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental Task Force, establish and maintain a public funding dashboard to ensure transparency in how resources are leveraged, and coordinate media briefings, community meetings and bilingual information campaigns.
The county has already been distributing home air purifiers to affected residents, with approximately 10,000 devices provided to households near the Tijuana River. Officials aim to provide purifiers to all 40,000 homes in the affected area.
Major infrastructure projects underway
Several significant infrastructure projects are in various stages of development. The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant capacity is being doubled from 25 million gallons per day to 50 million gallons per day, with completion expected by the end of 2027. Mexico is also constructing the new Tecolote-La Gloria wastewater treatment plant, located 5 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border, with a planned capacity of 3 million gallons per day and anticipated completion no later than December 2028.
Economic toll mounting
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors recently commissioned an economic impact study revealing the sewage crisis is causing annual losses up to $503.5 million to the regional community. If not resolved, the financial toll will reach $7.9 billion over the next two decades, according to the study.
Premont appeared at Monday's news conference alongside Terra Lawson-Remer, chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre, and County Counsel Damon Brown.
