San Diego County on Monday will introduce a former U.S. diplomat as its first Pollution Crisis Chief, tapping Bridget Premont to lead its response to the Tijuana River sewage and pollution crisis as a new study estimates the crisis could cost the region $7.9 billion over the next two decades if it is not fixed.
Premont will be introduced at a 1 p.m. news conference at the San Diego County Administration Center, according to the county.
She will be joined by Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre and county Counsel Damon Brown. The position, described as first-of-its-kind, will be based in the County Counsel’s office.
From 2017 to 2021, Premont was political and economic chief at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, where she also served as acting consul general, according to the county. Her efforts there helped secure more than $340 million in U.S. and Mexican federal funding to fight cross-border water pollution, the county said.
The board created the executive-level post Jan. 28 as part of an $8.75 million funding package. The role was established to give the county a single point of accountability for public health monitoring, infrastructure mitigation, emergency response, environmental protection and intergovernmental advocacy.
According to the county, Premont will coordinate with federal, state and local agencies to prioritize planning for local and cross-border infrastructure upgrades. She will also pursue federal and state funding, coordinate real-time emergency response when sewage discharges spike and chair a Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental Task Force.
She will also be responsible for maintaining a public funding dashboard showing how resources are used. Her duties include coordinating press briefings, community meetings and bilingual information campaigns.
Trash clumps along the bank of the Tijuana River in the Tijuana River Valley on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Luke Johnson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
For decades, millions of gallons of raw sewage and industrial waste have flowed across the border from Mexico into the U.S. each day through the Tijuana River. Surrounding South Bay communities have suffered health impacts from polluted air and water, including hydrogen sulfide gas that has repeatedly exceeded the county’s recommended safety threshold. The pollution has also kept the county’s southernmost beach closed for years.
Monday’s news conference will be held at the West Plaza of the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway. It will also be livestreamed on Lawson-Remer’s Instagram account.