2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWELVE - Conservation (§§ 1-16 — 8162) › Subtitle 4A - Water Law (1976) › Chapter 118 - Conservation, Development and Use of Water Resources (§§ 1115 — 1115v) › § 1115d - Secretary—Assignment of functions

The Secretary shall have the following duties and powers in connection with the water resources in Puerto Rico:
(a) To prepare, adopt and maintain an integral plan of conservation, development and use of the water resources of Puerto Rico in consultation with the Water Resources Committee hereinafter established. This plan shall determine with precision the present uses of the bodies of water of the [Commonwealth] and shall project future uses. In preparing said plan, the Secretary shall bear in mind the hydrological cycle, as well as the requirements of the natural, social and economic systems which depend on the resource for their subsistence and development.
(b) To establish a classification system of the water resources based on the utilization and use, on consumption needs, the priorities of present and future use, the state and condition of the resource, as well as on the quality of the supply required for human consumption and for the economic and social development foreseen for Puerto Rico. This system, like the integral plan for the use, conservation and development of the waters, shall constitute the basis for implementing and administering the permit and franchise system hereby established.
(c) To adopt the regulation [the Secretary] may deem necessary on uses [sic] and areas of use of the bodies of water, the quantity which may be used [from] each body, forestation of riparian areas, lakes, lagoons and dams, recovery of land, reclaiming of flooded areas, and other aspects relating to the waters. The decisions that the Secretary may adopt under this provision shall be based on considerations of public interest and shall take into account the hydrological cycle, the versatility of the bodies of water, the variety of possible utilizations, and the projections relative to quantity and quality that the Commonwealth requires to meet its needs.
(d) To establish water areas or districts in a critical state and to adopt, in reference thereto, the special rules and system of priorities necessary to guarantee their best conservation, use and utilization. The decisions of the Secretary to this effect shall be based on considerations of public interest and on criteria about the best, most beneficial and most reasonable use of the resource. In the exercise of this power, the Secretary shall take into account the different phases of the hydrological cycle and shall pay special attention to the rhythm of extraction of subterranean waters, the rhythm of supply of the sources, the permissible reduction of the subterranean watermark, and the possible pollution of aquifers.
(e) To promulgate the criteria about the best, most beneficial and most reasonable use of the waters and to establish the consumption priorities which shall be followed in the administration of the permit and franchise system prescribed by this chapter. In connection with this function the Secretary shall bear in mind the hydrological differences registered in the regions of Puerto Rico, the quantity and quality of the waters in each region, the demand that new consumption sources would represent, the social need and economic potential of those new sources, the reasonability of the existing uses and utilizations, the possibility of producing fresh water or of reusing water already utilized, the social and economic cost of meeting the present and future needs of Puerto Rico, and the ways that may be found to satisfy public interest to the optimum.
(f) To carry out the technical research [the Secretary] may deem convenient in order to determine with precision the adequacy for certain uses of the waters of Puerto Rico, as well as to identify the means of protecting, conserving and efficiently using the aquifers.
(g) To recommend to the Planning Board the adoption of standards and regulations relative to the development and use of lands that affect the water resources.
(i) To carry out surveys, research and scientific experiments in connection with the water resources, in coordination with other agencies and instrumentalities of the Commonwealth and of the United States Government, or with persons and organizations interested in the hydrological problems of Puerto Rico. The knowledge acquired through these means shall be kept in a hydrological information center and shall be at the disposal of the different government agencies concerned with the waters of Puerto Rico, and of persons interested therein.
(j) To establish a permit and franchise system for the use and utilization of the waters and bodies of water of Puerto Rico and to fix the fees to be charged in each case. The Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and the Water Resources Authority are exempt from the payment of such fees.
(k) To regulate the design, construction, operation and everything pertinent to the closing of installations, structures or devices used to extract or to “surface” subterranean waters, in coordination with other agencies concerned with these matters.
(l) To make the inventories and to establish the registries necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter, including those referring to surface and subterranean waters, wells, vested rights under prior legislation and to permits and franchises granted. The information contained in the registries, as well as in the inventories, shall be of a public nature and shall be made available to any person requesting it.
(m) To perform inspections and exercise surveillance over the bodies of water of Puerto Rico.
(n) To disclose information and promote the knowledge about the water problems and resources of Puerto Rico.
(o) To promulgate rules of a substantial and processal nature for the adjudication of controversies between private persons on the utilization of waters.
(p) To adopt the necessary regulations for the implementation of this chapter in keeping with the provisions of Act 112 of June 30, 1957. In the promulgation of these regulations the Secretary shall consult the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and the Water Resources Authority, so as not to affect the normal operation of these instrumentalities.
(q) Prepare, adopt and maintain an integral conservation and protection plan of aquifers and surface waters of Puerto Rico in coordination with the Planning Board and the Environmental Quality Board and any other local and federal agencies concerned, and to establish the necessary programs for the supervision and evaluation of the same.
(r) Adopt, with the advice of the Secretary of the Treasury, the norms and procedures related to the collection of the debts generated in behalf of the Department under the provisions of this chapter. The Secretary is hereby authorized to collect the prevailing legal interest on these debts.
(s) Establish a system of administrative tickets without requiring a prior hearing, to impose the fine for the infractions specifically mentioned in § 1115q of this title, without impairing the possibility of requesting an administrative review before the Department if in disagreement with said fine.
(h) The Secretary, through the corresponding regulations and adequate hiring, shall create the program “Adopt a Section of a River or Stream and its Riversides”; in order to contribute to the quality of life of the citizens and the environment.
With this adoption program, the Secretary or the person so designated by him, shall procure allocations and donations from enterprises, private groups, individuals or natural persons which shall be destined for the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources for picking and removing solid waste, rubble and scrap metal, as well as rendering vigilance and planting trees in the areas adjacent to the rivers and streams. In addition, the Department shall be entitled to agree with communities or private enterprises to that they carry out the removal of rubble or solid waste at least once a year.
As an incentive to attain the participation of enterprises, private groups, individuals or private persons, a sign shall be installed on the bridge or road closer to the adopted section of the river or stream, bearing the logo of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. The participation of the community groups or enterprises shall be recognized in any other way. The Department shall provide to the adoptee information of natural resources as well as educational material, and shall gather and publish information of the amount of waste piled.
History —June 3, 1976, No. 136, p. 390, § 5; Dec. 24, 1998, No. 312, § 1; Feb. 17, 2000, No. 49, § 1; Aug. 11, 2000, No. 151, § 1.