Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico's Nonpoint Source Management Program -
New Regulations Expected in 1997
Puerto Rico's section 319 program is administered by the Water Quality
Planning Bureau of the Office of the Governor. Puerto Rico targets two main
categories of nonpoint source pollution: livestock enterprises and erosion.
Regulations for both categories have been proposed by the Puerto Rico
Environmental Quality Board. If passed, the new regulations will help the board
enforce the use of best management practices.
At present, though no formal regulations are in place, the board requires
an Erosion Control Plan at any site involving the mechanical movement of soil
components. These plans include a description of the temporary and permanent
measures that will be used to minimize erosion and prevent sediments from
reaching nearby waterbodies. However, as these plans are not mandatory,
enforcement is very difficult. The proposed regulation for erosion control will
provide the legal mechanism to enforce these measures. It was submitted to the
public hearing process on January 28, 1997.
Livestock enterprises are the other nonpoint source that potentially
threatens the quality of Puerto Rico's water resources: the discharge or
improper application of animal waste and its high nutrient concentration. The
board has been concerned about this issue since the early stages of the
nonpoint source management program, but it has only recently developed a
proposed regulation.
Currently, the board reviews all animal waste management systems used by
livestock enterprises. Such systems are covered in general terms only under
Puerto Rico's nonhazardous solid wastes rule. Agreements supporting the
proposed regulation have been reached, however, with local and federal
agricultural agencies, such as Puerto Rico's Department of Agriculture and the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Its passage will make compliance
with the plans easier to enforce.
CONTACT: Eric Morales
Water Quality Planning Bureau Office of the Governor
(787) 751-5548 |
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