Proposed new definition for maritime-terrestrial zone evaluated at House hearing
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
By The Star Staff
The Natural Resources Committee in the island House of Representatives is evaluating changes to the definition of the maritime terrestrial zone, but found itself on Tuesday trying to pin down suitable parameters.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Elinette González Aguayo, began reviewing House Bill 25 this week, which proposes amending the “Puerto Rico Docks and Ports Law” of 1968 and the “Natural and Environmental Resources Watchdogs of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources [DNER] Law” of 1977, to moderate the definition of the maritime terrestrial zone (MTZ) using the location of the tidal range as a reference framework.
During the hearing, government surveyor Marcos Colón Mercado expressed his support for the bill, authored by House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Núñez, as it defines the maritime-terrestrial zone as “the coastal area bordered by the sea up to the greatest tidal movement during the equinoxes, where tides are sensitive, and the greatest waves during ordinary non-cyclonic storms, where tides are not sensitive.”
The surveying professor said “the bill seeks to establish the average of the highest tide as a reference, since it is not specified in the current law.” He also recommended language to make the definition of “highest tide” more specific.
The surveyor also recommended amendments to the bill’s language to determine the extent of the tide, taking into account mean sea level as a reference point or surface. He also suggested that regulations be drafted for these specific purposes.
“Currently, there is no regulation that specifically covers the issue of tides,” said Colón Mercado, who is assigned to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce’s Assistant Secretariat for Permit Management. “It is included in Regulation 4860, used by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, which covers all aspects of mangroves, estuaries, dunes, and seashores.”
Colón Mercado noted that the issue of the maritime-terrestrial zone is addressed on two pages of this regulation, and the DNER has developed a set of guidelines to comply with the law.
He also suggested amendments to define the term easement, which, according to the law, is the right to use land owned by another for a specific purpose. Specifically, what is addressed is a salvage easement, which is used when a vessel or fishing boat is run aground to protect itself during a storm.
The maritime-terrestrial zone is an area from where the rising sea level ends up to 20 meters inland, according to current law and the proposed bill.
“Properly defining what constitutes the maritime-terrestrial zone is essential when guiding the executive branch -- especially the DNER -- when conducting a scientific and technical analysis of the topographical, geological, and geophysical conditions that support the maritime-terrestrial demarcation,” the surveyor stated.
Colón Mercado asserted that “we all want the government administration to streamline the permit evaluation processes, but the factor that most affects it is overregulation.”
“This bill provides for this as long as the DNER adopts it as is and does not dilute it within its Regulation 4860,” he said. “This amendment is very good, but as has been done so far, the DNER will go beyond what is established here, believing that it is doing its best. It will establish that the MTZ extends to vegetation and not the tide, as established by law in the bill.”
For her part, Ivelisse Espinosa, the assistant secretary of permits at the DNER, also agreed with the measure, but suggested amendments to clarify which equinox will be used in the law to define the tide level.
“However, it is worth clarifying that, at the summer equinox, the water covers less land, and at the winter equinox, the water covers more land, so it is recommended to establish which one we will be using in the definition,” the DNER official stated.
Espinosa also recommended including, after referring to the equinoxes, language “that excludes the movement of water once the wave breaks and moves up the gradient.”
In response to the committee chairman’s question regarding the number of pending boundary demarcation cases in the MTZ, Espinosa replied that the agency has accumulated 177 cases since 2017. Due to the lack of professional surveyors on staff, she added, the DNER has had to hire professional services.