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Plan Proposes To Clean Up And Preserve San Juan Bay Estuary

Release Date: 09/29/1999
Contact Information: Mary Mears (212) 637-3673 / [email protected]

(#99153) San Juan, Puerto Rico -- In a culmination of federal, commonwealth, local and grassroots efforts, a proposed comprehensive plan designed to preserve and restore the San Juan Bay Estuary will be released this evening by the San Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP) Policy Committee for public comment. The draft Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) for the San Juan Bay Estuary is designed to assess and address, through individual, local, state and federal actions, the many environmental challenges faced by the Estuary. The CCMP, which contains 49 actions, 21 of which are high priority, will cost an estimated $300 million to fully implement.

"This plan builds on past and ongoing efforts to better understand and control potential environmental threats to the San Juan Bay Estuary," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "We are proud to be part of this partnership, which will result in a cleaner, healthier estuary for all. I am gratified that the federal government, through its National Estuary Program, has been able to participate in this very important initiative."

"Governor Rosselló recognizes the importance of the San Juan Bay Estuary's natural resources and their economic, social, recreational and public health values to our residents," said Héctor Russe, Chair of the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board.

"Through today's planning process and other related efforts, Puerto Rico is committed to working in partnership with the EPA, municipal governments and local communities to ensure that this magnificent natural resource is protected for present and future generations,"stated Daniel Pagán, Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.

"While there are numerous actions underway to protect water quality and habitats already, this plan lays out the foundation for actions that must also be performed," said Mayra Vega, Chair of the Citizen's Advisory Committee. "In the end, however, our success in fending off further degradation and restoring the estuary will also depend on the thousands of individual actions of residents and businesses throughout the watershed."

Among the most important challenges faced by the San Juan Bay Estuary, is the current degraded state of the Martín Peña Channel, which connects the San Juan Bay with the San Jose Lagoon. For decades, the waters and wetlands of the Martín Peña Channel have been filled with debris and other types of refuse. This practice significantly reduced the flow of water through the Estuary and reduced its capacity to store floodwaters. Communities were built without proper planning and sanitary services such as a sewage and solid waste collection. As a result, most of the households discharge untreated sewage directly into the Martín Peña Channel or into it through the storm sewer system. These activities have severely impacted water quality and the natural flow of water to the Estuary. Restoration of the Martín Peña Channel will also involve relocating households living in the channel's bank and the construction of a sewage collection system for the area. The cost of restoring the Martín Peña Channel is estimated at approximately $200 million.

Efforts are already underway to improve the conditions of the Martín Peña Channel, including numerous characterization studies, such as development of a hydrodynamic and water quality model to evaluate various options for rehabilitating the Martin Peña Channel and water quality conditions throughout the Estuary. Based on the model results, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under an Interagency Agreement with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, is designing a channel alignment that will help restore the channel's functions.

Other critical environmental problems faced by the San Juan Bay Estuary are sewage discharges, nutrient and toxic contamination, the presence of aquatic debris, and habitat loss and degradation. The need for planning and management is urgent, since most of the watershed surrounding the Estuary has been developed and the remaining portion is under great pressure for development.

The plan contains other policies and actions to improve and preserve the San Juan Bay Estuary. Among key actions call for

--- filling deep holes found in the Los Corozos, San Jose, Torrecillas and Condado Lagoons;

--- improving water flow between La Esperanza Peninsula Cove and the San Juan Bay;

--- designating a section of the Martín Peña Channel and the Puerto Nuevo River, complex as a natural reserve;

--- designating Las Cucharillas marsh as a natural reserve;

--- establishing protected areas for land crabs;

--- developing and implementing community-based solid waste management programs; and

--- developing an eco-tourism program to promote sustainable, low-impact use of the San Juan Bay Estuary's natural resources.

Projects already implemented are also highlighted in the plan. Among these projects are a solid waste management project conducted at El Redondel in the Piñones community; a native trees planting project at Quebrada Margarita, in Guaynabo, and a community education project in communities adjacent to Las Cucharillas Marsh in Cataño.

The San Juan Bay Estuary was accepted to the National Estuary Program as an estuary of national significance in October 1992. The San Juan Bay is one of 28 estuaries nationwide to obtain this designation, but is the only tropical estuary in the program. Participants in the San Juan Bay Estuary Program include a wide variety of stakeholders, representing citizens and environmental groups, businesses and industries, academic institutions, and municipal, state and federal governments.

For more information contact:

Mary Mears, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3669 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: [email protected]