Damian Breen is an accomplished environmental professional and the founder of Environmental Communications Strategies. With a career spanning 29 years, Damian has made significant contributions in various sectors, including wastewater, air quality, technology, regulatory, and government.
Damian's career dates back to 1995 when he was recruited out of college to run and refurbish the largest privately owned wastewater treatment plant in Europe at Anglo Irish Beef Processors Cahir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Having successfully completed that project, he moved to New York in 1996, where he worked as a consultant for the Federal Housing Authority, NYC Board of Education, Con Edison, US Postal Service, NYC Department of Transport and Amtrak performing lead, asbestos, occupational safety, phase I, II and III environmental assessments. In 1997 Damian was hired by Home Savings of America Bank in San Bruno, California, to do similar work, performing Phase I and Limited Environmental Assessments to establish environmental reserve levels for property transactions.
In 1999, he joined the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) as an entry-level Air District Inspector. During his inspection tenure, he conducted investigations across a wide geographical area, issuing a record number of over 280 notices of violation in just 1.5 years. He also played a crucial role in executing inspection warrants against non-compliant facilities and acted as a witness in a criminal prosecution related to the sale of illegal automotive refrigerants.
Recognizing Damian's expertise, he was promoted to Air Quality Specialist in the Air District's Field Engineering Group. In this role, Damian investigated major pollution incidents at Bay Area Refineries. His contributions were particularly notable when the USEPA disapproved the Air District's plan for Ozone pollution clean-up in 2001. Damian was transferred to the Rule Development section to address the deficiencies identified by the USEPA. Leading a study and authoring a landmark refinery wastewater rule, Damian successfully reduced over 40 tons of volatile organic compound emissions in the Bay Area. This rule became widely adopted nationally and internationally, reshaping wastewater emissions models for refinery facilities.
Building on his achievements, Damian rejoined the field engineering group in 2003, where he played a key role in developing and implementing the groundbreaking flare minimization rule. By putting an end to routine flaring at Bay Area refineries and requiring an explanation for flare uses, Damian addressed long standing community grievances. He also led the engineering team responsible for establishing the first flaring minimization plans for Bay Area refineries, setting the foundation for current plans and emissions reporting.
In 2004, Damian's contributions were recognized, and he was promoted to Supervising Specialist in the Operations arm of the Enforcement Division.
