With beaches in Imperial Beach closed for a third consecutive year, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today approved the establishment of a County Pollution Crisis Chief position to bring urgency, accountability, and coordination to the County’s response to the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis.

The executive-level role will serve as the County’s central point of coordination for sewage-related response efforts, integrating public health monitoring, infrastructure mitigation, emergency response, environmental protection, and intergovernmental advocacy under a single operational lead. The position is intended to ensure faster decision-making, clearer accountability, and sustained focus during the ongoing state of emergency.

“When I introduced my 5-point plan during the campaign, I promised that we would no longer tackle the Tijuana River sewage crisis with a fragmented approach. Today, by establishing the County Pollution Crisis Chief, we are fulfilling that promise. This role creates the single point of accountability our residents deserve, ensuring that every drop of redirected effort and every dollar of funding is coordinated to finally protect our community’s health and our coastline," said San Diego Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre.  

“This crisis cuts across public health, infrastructure, emergency response, and environmental protection — and for too long, those efforts have been fragmented,” said San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “This position is about alignment and urgency — making sure every department, every partner, and every level of government is pulling in the same direction to protect San Diego residents.”

The position was first called for in a comprehensive five-point action plan introduced by then–Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, and brought forward to the County Board by Chair Terra Lawson-Remer in June 2025. Since Supervisor Aguirre’s election to the Board last summer, the two have continued advancing the proposal together — including forming the Board’s Sewage Crisis Subcommittee and introducing the subcommittee’s first joint proposal alongside today’s action.

The Board’s action builds on prior steps taken by the County, including declaring a local state of emergency, expanding air and water quality monitoring, distributing air purifiers to affected residents, and pursuing a federal Superfund designation to secure long-term cleanup resources.

Recruitment for the Pollution Crisis Chief is underway.