As part of ongoing efforts to combat pollution in the Tijuana River Valley, San Diego County welcomed Bridget Premont as its new pollution crisis chief Monday.
The new role is intended to coordinate various local, state and international agencies to work on solutions to the longstanding issue.
"For decades, San Diego families have paid the price for a sewage crisis that government after government has failed to solve," County Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said. "We're done waiting for someone else to fix it. We're moving forward with plans to capture and clean polluted river water on our side of the border. But we need more than a plan on paper. We need the expertise to navigate the engineering, funding and international diplomacy it takes to get this done. That's why we're building a team dedicated to turning plans into action."
Premont will lead teams across several county departments — including public health, public works, environmental health & quality, emergency services, county counsel and county communications.
She most recently served as a U.S. foreign service officer, acting chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Premont previously directed the Office of Environmental Quality in the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, where she led international environmental negotiations, commercial diplomacy and managed $110 million in environmental grants to support global environmental initiatives, according to a county statement.
"I'm honored to step into this role at such a critical moment for our region," she said. "San Diego has shown remarkable unity and determination in elevating this issue, and I'm confident that together we can deliver real, lasting solutions. I look forward to working closely with our local, state, federal, and cross-border partners to protect our communities and restore our environment. I'm ready to get to work."
From 2017 to 2021, Premont served as the political and economic chief at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, where she also served as the acting consul general. According to the county, her work helped secure more than $340 million in U.S. and Mexican federal funding to combat cross border water pollution.
Premont also served as a diplomatic fellow at the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla from 2024-25 where she worked on North American economic security. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Gonzaga University and a master's in foreign service from Georgetown University.
"We are keeping our promise to confront the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis head on — delivering a comprehensive economic study and appointing a pollution crisis chief," County Board of Supervisors Chair Pro Tempore Paloma Aguirre said. "This is a full-scale economic disaster draining $500 million annually from our regional economy. Local business owners in Imperial Beach and across the South Bay are hanging on by a thread, and doing nothing is simply costing us far too much."
