Articles 1 through 5 of Law No. 416 of September 22, 2004
LAW
Article 1 – Title
This Law shall be known and can be cited as “The Environmental Public Policy Law”.
Article 2 – Purposes
The purposes of this Law are the following:
1. To establish a public policy that stimulates a desirable and appropriate harmony
between man and his environment;
2. to promote efforts to prevent or eliminate harm to the environment and the
biosphere and to promote the health and wellbeing of man;
3. to enhance the understanding of ecological systems and natural resources
important to Puerto Rico, and
4. to establish a Council on Environmental Quality.
TITLE I
DECLARATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC POLICY
Article 3 – Declaration of an environmental public policy.
A. The Free Associated State of Puerto Rico, fully recognizing the important impact
of man’s activities on the interrelationships between all components of the natural
environment, and especially the strong impact of population growth, high urban
density, industrial expansion, exploitation of resources, and new and spreading
technological advances, and further recognizing the critical importance of restoring
and maintaining environmental quality for the total wellbeing and development of
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man, declares that it is the ongoing policy of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico
including its municipalities, in cooperation with concerned public and private
organizations, to use all practical means and methods, including technical and
financial assistance, to encourage and promote general wellbeing and to ensure that
natural systems are healthy and that they have the capacity to sustain life in all its
forms, as well as social and economic activities, within the framework of a culture of
sustainability, to create and maintain conditions in which man and nature can exist in
productive harmony and can satisfy the social and economic necessities and any
others that might arise for present and future generations of Puerto Ricans.
B. The Free Associated State of Puerto Rico recognizes that everyone has a right to
and should enjoy a healthy environment and that everyone has the responsibility
to contribute to the conservation and improvement of the environment. Likewise,
any person responsible for the contamination of our soil, water or air shall be
obliged to pay the costs of decontamination or restoration, and when this is
necessary, to compensate the people of Puerto Rico for any harm caused.
C. Consistent with the foregoing and recognizing the importance and the relationship
between social, economic and environmental factors, the Free Associated State of
Puerto Rico will endeavor to achieve sustainable development based on the
following four broad objectives: (1) the most effective protection of the
environment and natural resources; (2) the most careful and efficient use of
natural resources for the benefit of all citizens; (3) social progress that recognizes
the needs of everyone; and (4) achieving and maintaining a high and stable level
of economic growth and employment.
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Article 4 – Duties and responsibilities of the Government of the Free Associated State
of Puerto Rico
A. To carry out the policy established in Article 3 of this Law, it is the ongoing
responsibility of the Free Associated State [of Puerto Rico] to use all practical
means, consistent with other basic considerations of public policy, to improve and
coordinate plans, functions, programs and resources of the Free Associated State
[of Puerto Rico] so that Puerto Rico can:
1. fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as custodian of the
environment for the benefit of subsequent generations;
2. assure safe, healthy, productive, esthetic and culturally pleasing
landscapes for all Puerto Ricans;
3. achieve the broadest enjoyment of beneficial uses of the environment
without degradation, risk to health or safety or other undesirable
consequences;
4. preserve the important historical, cultural and natural aspects of our
heritage and maintain, wherever possible, an environment that offers
diversity and variety for individual choice;
5. achieve a balance between the population and the use of resources that
permit a high standard of living and broad participation in the amenities of
life; and
6. improve the quality of renewable resources and oversee the sensible use of
those resources that undergo depletion.
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B. All departments, agencies, municipalities, corporations and public entities of the
Free Associated State of Puerto Rico and its political subdivisions should, to the
greatest extent possible, interpret, apply and administer all laws and regulations in
force and those that are approved in the future in strict conformity with the public
policy outlined in Article 3 of this Law. Likewise, the departments, agencies,
municipalities, corporations and public entities of the Free Associated State of
Puerto Rico and its political subdivisions, are ordered to comply with the
following standards in the implementation of the public policy of this Law:
1. To use a systematic interdisciplinary approach that will ensure the
integrated use of natural and social sciences as well as the art of natural
beautification in making plans and decisions that can have an impact on
the environment of man.
2. To identify and develop methods and procedures in consultation and
coordination with the Council on Environmental Quality established under
Title II of this Law, that assures not only consideration of economic and
technical factors, but equally considers those factors dealing with
established values and amenities, even when these are not measured or
valued economically.
3. To include in any recommendation or report on proposed legislation and
prior to carrying out any action or promulgating any governmental
decision that significantly affects the quality of the environment, to issue a
detailed, written statement on:
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a) the environmental impact of the proposed legislation, action to
be carried out or decision to be promulgated;
b) whatever adverse effects on the environment that can be avoided
if the proposed legislation is approved or carried out, if the action
is carried out or if the governmental decision is promulgated;
c) alternatives to the proposed legislation or action or governmental
decision in question;
d) the relationship between local short-term uses of the environment
and long-term conservation and improvement of productivity;
and,
e) any irrevocable or irreparable commitment of natural resources
that would be involved in the proposed legislation, if it were to
be implemented; in the governmental action, if it were carried
out; or in the decision if it were promulgated.
This requirement will not be applied to determinations and decisions
issued by the courts and the Board of the Council on Environmental
Quality, in adjudicated cases. Nor will it be applied to regulatory
proceedings undertaken by the Board of the Council on
Environmental Quality in favor of the authorities and responsibilities
delegated to it by this law or other laws.
Before the organization involved includes or issues the
corresponding environmental impact statement, whether it is
determined that the action in question will have a significant impact
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or that it will not have such an impact, the responsible official will
consult and obtain the opinion of any other governmental
organization with jurisdiction or interest in the proposed legislation,
action to be carried out or governmental decision to be promulgated.
A copy of the environmental impact statement and the opinions of
the organizations consulted, will be transmitted to the Council on
Environmental Quality. Further, they will be available to the public
and will accompany the proposed legislation, action or decision for
the corresponding process of study and examination through
government organizations.
The official responsible for releasing the environmental impact
statement will provide an electronic copy in a format established by
the Council on Environmental Quality. The Council on
Environmental Quality will electronically publish the environmental
impact statement through easily accessible means, free-of-charge,
such as the Internet. The electronic publication of the Environmental
Impact Statement and its availability to the public will coincide with
the date on which hard copies of this document are made available to
the public.
4. To study, develop and describe appropriate alternatives for the
recommended courses of action in any proposal that involve unresolved
conflict regarding alternative uses of available resources.
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5. To apply the precautionary principle, recognizing that when and where
there are threats of serious and irreversible harm, the lack of complete
scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone costeffective methods to prevent environmental degradation. This should be
done, taking into account the following premises:
(1) persons, natural or legal, have the obligation to take actions
in advanced to prevent harm or danger; (2) the burden of
proof regarding the absence of dangers that a new
technology, process, activity or chemical substance may
cause falls on the proponent, not on public citizens; (3)
before using a new technology, process or chemical
substance, or beginning a new activity, individuals have the
obligation to evaluate a broad range of alternatives,
including the alternative of not doing anything; and (4)
decisions in which this principle is applied should be
public, informed and democratic, and should include all
affected parties.
6. To recognize the worldwide character and broad reach of environmental
problems and where it coincides with the foreign policy of the United
States, to lend appropriate support to initiatives, resolutions and programs
designed to maximize international cooperation by anticipating and
avoiding the deterioration of the quality of the worldwide environment of
humanity.
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7. To offer to municipalities, institutions and individuals, advice and
information useful for the restoration, conservation and improvement of
environmental quality.
8. To initiate and use ecological information in plans and the development of
directed resource projects.
9. To aid the Council on Environmental Quality established under Title II of
this Law in any project or effort directed at achieving the objectives of this
Law, including, but not limited to, directing particular attention to and
fulfill the requirements of compiling and periodically providing the
Council on Environmental Quality with authoritative information and facts
that will help it determine and inform about the state of the environment
and natural resources.
C. The Planning Council is exempted from fulfilling Section B(3) of this article in
private projects in which they have to take part in the process of providing advice
regarding location. In these cases, the organization proposing to or consulting
with the Council on Environmental Quality will be the agency, department,
municipality, corporation or public entity with an interest in or have recognized
expertise regarding the proposed action or the location of the project.
D. All departments, agencies, municipalities, corporations and public entities of the
Free Associated State of Puerto Rico and its political subdivisions will have the
ongoing responsibility of revising their statutory authority, administrative
regulations and policies and procedures so as to determine whether there are any
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deficiencies or inconsistencies that prevent the total compliance with the goals
and objectives of this Law and fulfilling the requirements in Section B,
and with prior notification of the Board of the Council on Environmental Quality,
should propose to the Governor those measures necessary to adjust its authority
and policies in accordance with the intention, aims and procedures set forth in this
Law.
Article 5 – Exceptions and Complementary Nature
Nothing outlined in Article 4 should affect in any way, specific statutory
obligations of any agency to: (1) fulfill environmental criteria and standards; (2)
coordinate and consult with any other agency or (3) to act or abstain from acting
subject to the recommendations and certification of any other agency.
The policies and objectives outlined in this Law are complementary to those
established in existing authorizations by these agencies.
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