P.R. Laws tit. 12, § 1153
The Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is hereby conferred the responsibility of instituting the provisions of this chapter, and is invested with the power to adopt the rules and regulations that may derive therefrom, and any others that he/she may deem necessary to comply with this responsibility, pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, “Uniform Administrative Procedure Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
The Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources has the responsibility of informing the provisions of this chapter to all the agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that are responsible for approving or endorsing projects and permits, such as, but not limited to the Planning Board, the Electric Power Authority, the Environmental Quality Board, the Department of Agriculture and all its [agencies], the Land Authority, the Land Administration, the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Highways and Transportation Authority, the Department of Economic and Commercial Development and all its [agencies], the municipalities, and the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. It shall also report to the following federal government agencies: the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Park Service.
The Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall direct the Geologic, Water Resources, Coastal Zone Program, Natural Heritage, and the Fish and Wildlife Service Bureaus to carry out a study to define the areas that, due to their geological, hydrological, and ecological system significance and function, can not be used under any circumstance for the extraction of materials from the earth’s crust for commercial purposes, or for commercial exploitation. Said study will offer alternatives so that the aforementioned activities can be carried out under appropriate conditions in other areas of the karst region. The recommendations of this study shall be incorporated to the Regulations for the Extraction of Materials from the Earth’s Crust, and in the regulations of the Planning Board to zone those areas of the karst region that should be conserved. The Secretary may form an interdisciplinary committee with personnel from the agency, from state and federal agencies, and representatives of civic groups to offer support for the task assigned herein, as well as to identify the land, natural communities, and habitats that should be conserved. An inventory with this information shall be prepared and, should it be necessary, a plan for the protection or acquisition of lands for their preservation. The study shall be completed in a period of not more than two (2) years from the date of approval of this act.
History —Aug. 21, 1999, No. 292, § 5.