USACE issues cease & desist order to DNER over river operations in Loíza

Col. Brandon L. Bowman, Jacksonville District commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Facebook via Everglades news and information)

By THE STAR STAFF

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a “cease and desist” order to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and its secretary, Waldemar Quiles Pérez, for depositing fill and dredging at the mouth of the Río Grande de Loíza without federal authorization.

A July 8 letter from USACE states that the illegal activities continued despite multiple prior conversations and even training sessions that USACE itself had provided to DNER personnel regarding the required federal permits.

Brandon L. Bowman, the USACE Jacksonville District commander, said in the letter to the DNER that “you were previously advised by members of my staff that no dredging, excavation, or discharge of fill material into these waters could occur until the appropriate federal authorization had been obtained.”

“The Corps advises you to cease and desist from conducting such activity in navigable waters of the United States until this matter is conclusively resolved,” the letter made public by Jay Fonseca notes. 

Potential consequences include civil penalties of up to $68,446 per day, criminal fines under the Clean Water Act of up to $50,000 per day, and under another federal statute up to $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for corporations, in addition to possible jail time.

USACE also warned that it may order restoration of the affected area, and is giving the DNER 15 days to submit information about the activity.