Surfrider Foundation: Rincón, Puerto Rico

SOLUTIONS: POLICY AND LAW LIBRARY

Solution Main Page | How This Can Happen | Policy and Law Library

Through our research on the campaign to Save Tres Palmas we have come across several law and policy documents that we believe are important resources for the community, activists and agency staff working on the protection of Rincón and other parts of Puerto Rico. We have provided link to these documents below.

NOAA 312 Assessment:
The National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) is responsible for the implementation of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), which is the basis for state and commonwealth coastal management programs. The Puerto Rico coastal zone management program is run by the Department of Natural Resources and the Planning Board with oversight from NOAA. One requirement of the Coastal Zone Management Act is that NOAA periodically reviews each program to ensure it is meeting the requirements of the CZMA. There review list necessary action and recommended actions.
The link below is the most recent (January 2002) review for Puerto Rico's coastal zone management program. It is a great primer on Puerto Rico's coastal zone management program and highlights both positive aspects of the program and necessary actions the program must take.
We believe this review provides further justification for our goals to protect Rincón.

Read the NOAA 312 Assessment document

Ley De Municipios Autónomos (Ley 81 del 30 de agosto de 1991):
The Autonomous Municipalities Act, passed in 1991, is changing Puerto Rico's land use planning process. The Act establishes a process whereby municipalities may assume planning and zoning authority from the Planning Board. Many of the 48 coastal municipalities are gradually gaining greater decision-making authority over land uses.
NOAA has found that outreach to local governments is critical to successful coastal management, especially as more municipalities assume greater responsibility for their land use decisions. Public comments from coastal program partners and private land owners indicate the need for further implementation of land controls, including the use of the public domain, land use conflicts, and coordination of activities.

Read the Ley De Municipios Autónomos

Law 147: Law for the Protection, Conservation and Management of Puerto Rico Coastal Reefs:
These are some excerpts from Law 147 that mandates the protection of coral reefs in Puerto Rico:

Coral reefs constitute a very significant, unique, and special ecosystem for all human beings and marine life. Unfortunately, coral reefs are being increasingly exposed to countless factors, which affect their existence. The fragility of coral reefs places them at a disadvantage regarding the effects of nature, and above all, human imprudence and ignorance.

It is hereby declared and reiterated that it is the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the protection, preservation, and conservation of coral reefs in Puerto Rico's territorial waters for the benefit and enjoyment of this generation and future ones. It is also declared that based on public interest the continuous and irreparable damage to coral reefs and related marine life must urgently be avoided and prevented. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall promote the development of sustainable management plans for Puerto Rico's coral reefs.

Special emphasis is put on the need to educate the general public on the importance of coral reefs, their maintenance, and the way people can cooperate in protecting them.

Read the Law #147 in English
Read the Law #147 in Spanish

Tres Palmas Marine Reserve legislation
Read the text of the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve legislation

Law 183 - Conservation Easement Act of Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Conservation Easement Act, Act No. 183, 27 December 2001, was created to achieve collaboration between the private sector, non-profit organizations and the Government, in order to promote the conservation of areas of natural, cultural or agricultural value by means of establishing conservation easements.

The purpose of this legislation is to create a tax incentive that consists of granting a tax credit to the person who donates the conservation easement or the eligible land to a government entity or to a non-profit organization engaged in environmental conservation.

Any person that establishes an eligible conservation easement or donates eligible land may opt for a tax credit equal to fifty percent (50%) of the value of the eligible conservation easement or the eligible land on the date of the donation, to be taken in two (2) installments: the first half of said credit in the year in which the establishment of the conservation easement or the donation of the eligible land occurs, and the balance of said credit, in the following year.

Read Law 183 in English (.pdf file in Adobe Acrobat format)
Read Law 183 in Spanish (.pdf file in Adobe Acrobat format)