By The Star Staff
The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and the Municipality of Salinas have expanded the list of people it intends to oust from the Jobos Bay natural preserve.
The agency and the municipality filed a request for an injunction seeking to demolish property built in the area. The statutory injunction requests the permanent suspension of the use of the structure under penalty of contempt, and the demolition of all structures built on the property within a reasonable period not to exceed 30 days, subject to the approval of the DNER and any other recommendation of the agency, under penalty of contempt.
“We remain active and determined to confront and eradicate any activity that violates environmental laws,” DNER Secretary Anaís Rodríguez Vega said. “Our message is clear: there will be no tolerance for the improper use of our natural spaces. This is our unavoidable duty and our firm promise to citizens.”
The petition for an injunction is directed against the communal property of Pablo Vergara Ramos and Judith Agnes Rivera Díaz, residents of Bayamón. Superior Judge Josian J. Rivera Torres, of room 303 of the Guayama Judicial Center, scheduled an initial hearing that will take place on Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. via videoconference.
The defendants built some structures within a property identified as Lot No. 37, located on Camino los Indios in Salinas’ Las Mareas sector. The construction consists of a one-story cement structure mounted on columns to a small pier, a light intake column, and an access gate built of galvanized steel and wood and in the surroundings with a linked wire fence with concrete footing. The size of the lot is 1,625 square meters (17,491 square feet).
However, no permit application or approval was issued by the Cayey, Coamo, Villalba and Salinas Consortium or the Permits Management Office for the aforementioned works, as required by Rule 3.2.1. of the Joint Regulations for the Evaluation and Issuance of Permits Related to Development, Land Use, and Business Operation in force at the time of construction.