Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón accompanied members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other officials on a visit to Juana Díaz “to see the ravages of the [Jacaguas] river and as there are residences in danger due to the destabilized land.”
BY THE STAR STAFF
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón met on Tuesday with Mayor Ramón “Ramoncito” Hernández Torres and his work team with whom she discussed reconstruction
work, the status of federal programs and inspection of projects in the municipality of Juana Díaz.
“One of the mayor’s priorities is the dredging of the Jacaguas River and the problems they
face with the Bayoán, Guayo and Inabón rivers, for which reason we visited the Sabana Llana
neighborhood,” González Colón said in a written statement.
The island’s delegate to the U.S. Congress accompanied members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) “to see the ravages of the river and as there are residences in danger due
to the destabilized land.”
During the visit the resident commissioner, USACE personnel and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discussed permits and other pending procedures in the proposal stage or projects in development.
The Juana Díaz mayor presented his work plan, in which he showed how he is maximizing the federal funds that the resident commissioner secured, which include an investment of $155 million for reconstruction. Of the other projects in process, 10 are being supported with federal, state and municipal investment that adds up to $45 million.
The resident commissioner, mayor and officials from federal agencies inspected various
projects or sites spotlighted for potential projects.
Two of the projects they visited are being financed with federal funds. One of them is the construction of the sanitary system of Lake Horizon 1 and 2 with an investment of $6.4 million from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA), which is expected to be ready by 2024.
The second project is the construction of the Emergency Management, Municipal Police and Epidemiology Center, which was designed with municipal resources and is financed with federal funds, also through ARPA, and which will generate 50 jobs.