Golf academy appeals DNER ruling renewing Carolina landfill permit

The Caribbean Golf Academy argues that the decision by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources to renew the Carolina landfill permit violates federal laws regarding ecologically sensitive areas, state environmental public policy, karst zone protection laws, and resource conservation laws. (www.municiopiodecarolina.com)

By THE STAR STAFF

The Caribbean Golf Academy (CGA) has requested that the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) reconsider its decision to renew the Carolina landfill permit.

The CGA argues that the DNER decision violates federal laws regarding ecologically sensitive areas, state environmental public policy, karst zone protection laws, and resource conservation laws -- all of which led to the agency’s establishment. They also contend that the decision is based on outdated or inapplicable regulations.

The request for reconsideration, submitted by Patricio Martínez Lorenzo, asserts that the environmental agency’s determination is incorrect due to a lack of substantial evidence, specific findings of fact, and legal conclusions pertinent to the case.

The CGA outlined 10 key points in its request, including the revocation of the Aug. 21 resolution signed by DNER Deputy Secretary Nelson Cruz Santiago and the findings of the examining officer, Luis González Ortiz. It seeks a denial of the permit renewal as requested and that the Municipality of Carolina be required to prepare an environmental impact statement conducted by third parties without financial interests in the landfill operation.

Additionally, the academy calls for an assessment of the site’s hydrogeology and plans for restoring or mitigating flora, fauna, and cultural values in the impacted area within the designated buffer zone. The DNER is also urged to comply with federal groundwater monitoring requirements, conduct a comprehensive hydrogeological characterization of the karst area, and prepare relevant findings of fact and conclusions under environmental law.

“There is no logical explanation for the Department’s insistence on granting this permit,” stated Luis Rivera Ortiz, president of the CGA and Hacienda Campo Rico. “We maintain that it violates laws and regulations, such as the requirement to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement in ecologically sensitive areas like the karst zone. It is unacceptable that the Municipality of Carolina celebrates what is clearly an environmental crime.”

He emphasized that the permit only covers five cuerdas (4.86 acres), excluding another 12 cuerdas (11.7 acres) that have also been filled with garbage by the landfill operator. The area falls within a 35-acre property previously expropriated by the Municipality of Carolina to create a buffer zone as a mitigation measure approved by the Puerto Rico Planning Board. However, the municipality has violated the permit by expanding the landfill without adherence to applicable laws and regulations, Rivera Ortiz said.

Patricio Martínez Lorenzo, the CGA’s lawyer stated that “[t]he absence of factual findings in the Examining Officer’s report and the Resolution signed by the [Deputy] Secretary makes it impossible to determine any substantial evidence supporting the recommendation for permit renewal, given the allegations presented by the Appearing Party.”

He pointed out that the examining officer’s document referenced Section 641 of the Regulations for the Management of Non-Hazardous Solid Waste (RMDSNP), which relates to construction permits rather than landfill operating permits. “Chapter IV of the repealed Regulation No. 5717 pertains to sanitary landfill systems; thus, the DNER evaluated the Municipal Autonomous Corporation of Carolina’s permit renewal using the incorrect regulatory provision, Rule 641 of the RMDSNP, instead of Regulation No. 9306,” the reconsideration request states. “This omission has significant consequences.”

Martínez Lorenzo noted further that the draft renewal permit fails to meet various requirements outlined in Regulation No. 9306 and the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), particularly concerning municipal solid waste landfills, groundwater monitoring, and well standards. He added that the permit renewal was authorized without a thorough characterization of the underlying karst aquifer, an assessment of groundwater flow direction and velocity, the vulnerability of the karst aquifer, and the hydrogeological connectivity between the buffer zone and landfill operations.

He argued that the DNER did not adequately consider that the federal RCRA law imposes protections for sensitive areas, including aquifer recharge zones, wetlands, bodies of water, unstable geological features, and seismically active regions.

“The karst area where the landfill operates has unique geological characteristics that require proper evaluation,” the attorney noted. “The documentation in the administrative file or report does not sufficiently demonstrate compliance with existing federal groundwater monitoring standards.”