2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-EIGHT - Public Lands (§§ 1 — 737) › PART I - Lands Generally; Mines (§§ 1 — 226) › Chapter 7 - Mines (§§ 110 — 125-180) › § 115a - Duties and powers of the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources

The Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources shall be vested with the following duties and powers:
(a) He shall adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations with respect to the exploitation, development and utilization of commercial minerals.
Before adopting or amending any rules and regulations, the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources shall hold public hearings. At least thirty (30) days before holding a hearing, he shall publish in two newspapers of general circulation a public notice with the date, place, and nature of such hearing, as well as the place and manner for obtaining additional information concerning the matter to be discussed in the hearing.
Once the rules and regulations are adopted or amended as aforesaid, the Secretary shall submit same to the Legislature for consideration. The latter may express by concurrent resolution its disagreement with any aspect of the rules and regulations within forty-five (45) days of regular or special session following the date the same was submitted to it. Such action shall suspend the effect of the part so objected to by the Legislature. Once said term expires without the Legislature taking action on the rules and regulations involved, it shall be understood that they have been approved and shall be in force when the provisions in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3 have been complied with. The present rules and regulations shall remain in effect until they are amended or repealed by the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources as above provided.
(b) He shall from time to time determine the substances that shall be deemed commercial minerals subject to control pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Shall issue [prospecting] permits upon duly notifying the beneficiaries thereof that if prospecting for the mining of minerals is to be carried out, “open pit” or “strip mining” extraction methods shall not be used.
(d) He shall negotiate and agree upon the terms and conditions of leases and execute them on behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as established in the statement of public policy of this chapter and including in such negotiation, but without limitation, the fixing of royalties and the fees for the government share in the gross or net production of commercial minerals in excess of the minimum to that effect established by this chapter, the reasonable contributions to defray social costs inherent in the operation, as well as charges for governmental services, bonds to be required, and whatever other charges are necessary and convenient.
(e) He shall collect the royalties, the fees for the government share in the production, the charges and all the lease rentals or any other fees or payments prescribed by this chapter and shall administer the bonding of the works of prospecting, exploitation, and extraction of commercial minerals.
(f) He shall pass upon and decide all matters and controversies arising with regard to mining under the provision of this chapter and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The Secretary shall have jurisdiction to solve controversies relating to rights of entry, compensation to owners of real estate rights, as well as to arbitrate in whatever other controversies that may ensue between the owners and the natural or artificial persons authorized to engage in mining activities.
(g) He shall establish, supervise, and keep the register in which the areas to be prospected as well as the prospecting permits and leases awarded shall be recorded.
(h) He shall establish an office where maps, assays, surveys, and all other information related to the mining potential of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be kept. These documents shall be of a public nature.
(i) He shall actively promote the divulgence of all knowledge obtained with regard to the existence and availability of commercial minerals in Puerto Rico.
(j) He shall, by himself or through his authorized representatives, receive testimony, administer oaths, issue summonses requiring the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary or other evidence when he deems it necessary for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter and of the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. He may also issue orders to do or not to do, cease and desist, and, upon a previous hearing, impose sanctions or administrative fines up to a maximum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for violations of this chapter or of the rules and regulations and orders issued thereunder. The Secretary may appear before the Court of First Instance, San Juan Part, to request that said court command compliance with any summons or order issued by him.
Any person adversely affected by a resolution, order or decision of the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources may apply for reconsideration within the term of fifteen (15) days after having received notice of said resolution, order or decision. The petition for reconsideration to the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources shall be mandatory when the party files an action for judicial review of the resolution, order or decision made by the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources, when the review action is based on issues of law or findings of facts that have been before the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources.
(k) Upon the previous approval of the Governor and subject to the provisions of §§ 2901—2913 of Title 32 in force, he may institute condemnation proceedings so as to establish any kind of easement or to acquire property or any right or interest therein, when in his understanding such actions are necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities assigned to him by this chapter and to guarantee the rights of prospecting and exploitation of mineral deposits he may have granted.
Whenever the immediate taking of the property to be condemned is, in his judgment, necessary, the Secretary may acquire by purchase, condemnation, or any other legal means, for the use and benefit of the Commonwealth, of its permit holders or of any other grantees, such properties or property rights as may be necessary and suitable for the ends and purposes of this chapter. The Secretary shall previously deposit with the court the necessary funds to cover the value of the properties or rights to be acquired, and to this end, in the proper cases, the permit holder or any other grantee in whose behalf the properties are to be acquired, shall deposit the said funds for the abovementioned purposes. Any difference in value decreed by the court may be paid from the Public Treasury, but the Secretary shall be bound to refund same. As security for the fulfillment of this obligation, the Secretary shall in such cases require of the party concerned the proper bond, underwritten by sureties acceptable to the Secretary and who are unanswerable to him for the said refund as well as for any liability assumed or incurred by the Secretary under §§ 2901—2913 of Title 32. Upon such refund in full, the title to said property shall be conveyed to the Commonwealth or directly to the party concerned, by order of the court, through the proper instrument to such effect.
All personal or real property and every right or interest therein which the Secretary may consider necessary to acquire for himself, or for others, to carry out the purposes of this chapter, are hereby declared of public utility and may be condemned by the Secretary for the use and benefit of the Commonwealth or of its permit holders and grantees, without the prior declaration of public utility provided in § 2902 of Title 32. The public need or utility of entering upon and occupying the surface of lands wherein commercial minerals are being or are to be exploited, is also hereby declared.
Condemnation proceedings instituted by virtue of the preceding provisions shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of §§ 2901—2913 of Title 32, and for such purposes the Secretary shall enjoy all the rights and assume all the obligations prescribed by said law with respect to every condemning authority.
(l) The Secretary may from time to time inspect the works involved in prospecting for and exploiting commercial minerals, as well as the books and files of the persons and entities carrying out such works, which provision the Secretary shall include as a condition in every prospecting and mining permit granted under this chapter.
(m) He may bring actions in the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico for the purpose of collecting lease rentals or any other charges, fees, royalties, or payments prescribed by this chapter.
(n) The Secretary shall appoint and hire the necessary temporary or permanent personnel to carry out the ends and purposes of this chapter and shall fix the duties and compensation thereof. Said personnel shall be included in the Exempt Service.
(o) He may declare reserve areas or study zones over which no prospecting permits shall be issued nor leases granted. The purpose and duration of such classifications shall be those which in the Secretary’s judgment are to the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico.
(p) The secretary shall not grant metallic mineral [prospecting] permits if “open pit” or “strip mining” technology is to be used.
History —Aug. 18, 1933, No. 9, p. 32, § 4; Oct. 6, 1954, No. 6, p. 48, § 1; June 27, 1969, No. 96, p. 257, § 4; Oct. 29, 1975, No. 10, p. 766, § 4; June 30, 1995, No. 73, §§ 2, 3.