San Diego County has appointed Bridget Premont as its first pollution crisis chief. The new position coordinates the regional fight against cross-border sewage contamination that has shuttered Coronado beaches for more than 500 days since 2023.
Premont, a career U.S. foreign service officer, will lead teams across six county departments and work with local, state, federal and Mexican partners to strengthen the region's pollution response, according to a county statement. The role is based in the county's Office of County Counsel.
The appointment comes as a county-commissioned economic impact study found the sewage crisis causes annual losses of up to $503.5 million to the regional economy, the Times of San Diego reported. If left unresolved, the financial toll could reach $7.9 billion over the next two decades, according to the county.
"We're done waiting for someone else to fix it … We need the expertise to navigate the engineering, funding and international diplomacy it takes to get this done," San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said in the county statement.
What the role covers
Premont will chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental Task Force spanning Public Health, Public Works, Environmental Health and Quality, the Office of Emergency Services, County Counsel and County Communications.
Her duties include coordinating emergency response when sewage discharges spike, advocating for federal and state funding, and establishing a public funding dashboard for transparency, according to the Times of San Diego.
Premont's background
Premont served as the political and economic chief at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana from 2017 to 2021, where she also served as acting consul general. Her work there helped secure more than $340 million in U.S. and Mexican federal funding to combat cross-border water pollution, according to the county.
She previously directed the Office of Environmental Quality in the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, where she managed $110 million in environmental grants. Her most recent post was acting chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Coronado impact
Cross-border sewage pollution from Tijuana has affected Coronado and Imperial Beach beaches since 1933, according to the Coronado Eagle & Journal. The contamination has driven repeated beach closures, airborne health concerns and a rotten-egg smell reported by residents near Silver Strand State Beach, the Cays and Navy housing.
Board of Supervisors Chair Pro Tempore Paloma Aguirre called the crisis "a full-scale economic disaster" in the county statement. "Local business owners in Imperial Beach and across the South Bay are hanging on by a thread," Aguirre said.
Coronado Councilmember Carrie Downey attended an Oct. 16 roundtable on the crisis at the San Diego Foundation, where lawmakers from across the county discussed the pollution's health and economic effects, the Coronado Eagle & Journal reported. No public comment from Coronado officials specifically about Premont's appointment appears in available records.
On Sept. 1, San Diego County supervisors approved $5.8 million for design and engineering work related to the sewage crisis, according to the Eagle & Journal.
