PUERTO RICO COASTAL NONPOINT POLLUTION CONTROL PLAN

 

Introduction: Condition of Puerto Rico waterbodies

According to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) 2000 Section 305b report on the assessments of Puerto Rico waterbodies (rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters) carried out from 1998 to 1999, these do not attain the totality of designated uses in terms of water quality. By designated uses we mean aquatic life (specie propagation and preservation), primary contact recreation (swimming), secondary contact recreation (fishing) and raw material source for potable water.

Of the total river and stream miles assessed, 32% are not supporting aquatic life use and 57% are not adequate drinking water resources. Twenty-three percent (23%) are not suitable for swimming and 37% for fishing. Of the total acreage of lakes and lagoons assessed, 86.4% attain aquatic life use in lakes and 76.3% in lagoons. Swimming and fishing may take place in 100% of the sampled lakes and in 86.4% of the lagoons. Ninety-four percent (94%) of the lakes assessed may be used as drinking water resources. Only 23% of the miles of assessed estuaries may support aquatic life use. Of these, swimming and fishing may take place respectively in 28% and 70% of them. In coastal waters, 86% of the coastal miles assessed support aquatic life use, and 88% are suitable for swimming and 98% for fishing (see Table 1).

Nonpoint source pollution NPS) is the major cause for the current status of Puerto Rico waterbodies. Nonpoint source pollution in lakes is linked to wastewater disposal, urban runoffs, and hydromodifications. In rivers and streams, it is associated with inappropriate disposal of wastewaters due to the lack of sewer systems, as well as with agricultural activities and sanitary ruptures. In coastal waters, NPS is due to urban runoffs and sanitary sewage overflows.

Table 1

Report on Puerto Rico Water Quality Vs Designated Uses

Nonattainment of Designated Uses

Body of water

Area

Unit

Species Propagation and Preservation

Swimming

Fishing

Source of Potable Water

Rivers and Streams

Miles

32.0%

23.0%

37.0%

57.0%

Lakes

Acres

13.6%

0.0%

0.0%

6.0%

Lagoons

Acres

23.7%

13.6%

13.6%

N/A

Estuaries

Miles

67.0%

72.0%

30.0%

N/A

Coastal Waters

Miles

14.0%

12.0%

2.0%

N/A

 

  • The proportion of the waterbodies sampled is a representation of the total bodies of water of Puerto Rico.

Definition of the Nonpoint Source Concept
Pollution by nonpoint sources occurs when rainwater runs over land surface, as on impounding and impervious areas, picking up and carrying polluted and toxic substances, materials, and elements into the surface or ground waterbodies. In commercial areas, urban centers, and industrial areas, rainwater runs over impervious spaces, as for example parking lots, building and house roofs, patios, streets, roads, and highways. It also runs over new development areas where the vegetative cover has been removed and agricultural fields. Runoffs carry all types of materials (big, small, liquid, and solids) and transport them into rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers, finally reaching the sea or the ocean. All these natural or man-made materials together with the polluted and toxic elements are transported by runoffs towards surface and ground waterbodies. Because the polluted runoffs come from many diverse sources such as crop lands, areas where earth crust material or vegetation has been removed, existing or new construction or development areas, urban and rural areas, among others, and not from a single point they are called Nonpoint Source Pollution. Therefore, nonpoint source pollution can be defined as ... a type of pollution caused by sediments, nutrients and organic and toxic substances due to land use activities. These pollutants are carried into the bodies of water by stormwater runoffs, irrigation sources, rain, and modification of basins.

Implementation and development of the Puerto Rico Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Plan
The Puerto Rico Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Plan was developed to control pollution from nonpoint sources. The Plan, a requirement to States and Territories with approved Coastal Zone Management Programs must meet, was fully approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 2000. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) administer the plan for Puerto Rico. The Interagency Committee for Nonpoint Pollution Control (the Committee), created by Executive Order 1999-08 in February 1999, coordinates the implementation of the plan.

This Committee is composed of the following state agencies: the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), the Environmental Quality Board (EQB), the Planning Board (PB) the Regulations and Permits Administration (RPA), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Soil Conservation Districts (SCD), the Agricultural Experimental Station (AES), the Agricultural Extension Service (AES) of the University of Puerto Rico, the Department of Health (DH), the Highway and Transportation Authority (HTA), the Aqueducts and Sewer Authority (ASA), the Electric Energy Authority (EEA), the Ports Authority (PA), the Sea Grant College Program and those government entities eventually identified by the designated agencies that need to be incorporated to form part of the Committee.

The Interagency Committee also receives the collaboration of federal agencies that deal with environmental issues in Puerto Rico. These are the Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), the Fish and Wildlife Service (US-FWS), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Federal Agricultural Service Agency (USDA-FSA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

To attain the control of pollution by nonpoint sources, Puerto Rico must implement:

  • The Mandatory Management Measures (MMs) in conformity with the guidance published by the EPA (Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters).
  • Additional Management Measures established by Puerto Rico as they may be necessary to attain and sustain applicable water quality standards.
  • And, the MMs for the Protection of Wetlands and Riparian Areas.

Nonpoint categories

Five (5) main nonpoint categories have been identified in Puerto Rico, whose activities originate from nonpoint pollution. These are:

  • urban- cities, roads, streets, parking lots, and existing and new residential areas. Areas under development and the construction of urban areas and highways, expressways and bridges;

 

  • agriculture –crops (including ornamental plants), livestock, and poultry, pig, rabbit and other similar farms.

 

  • marinas – facilities to provide storage and service to vessels

 

  • hydromodifications- shoreline protection and restoration of river and stream banks, canalization, and dam construction

 

  • mining – sand, gravel or stone and commercial mineral extraction

Plan Implementation and Development Phase
Executive Order 1999-08 of February 1999 establishes the Public Policy for Puerto Rico coastal nonpoint pollution control. It requires the adoption of the MMs in EPA’s guidance and orders all departments, agencies, and other instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to comply with them. It also orders the creation of the Interagency Committee for the Nonpoint Pollution Control, whose fundamental purpose is the development and implementation of Puerto Rico’s Plan. For an effective development and implementation, Puerto Rico’s Plan consists of a 5-year Implementation Action Plan and a 15-years implementation Strategic Plan. Puerto Rico’s Plan was the fourth plan approved in United States and the first one of the Islands. A copy of the Plan is available at the DNER Coastal Zone Division.

The Nonpoint Pollution Control Committee regularly meets once a month. In these meetings each agency’s individual or joint procedure to achieve the objectives of the work program is discussed. A report of the achievement of the first three years of implementation of the Plan was prepared for the Governor of Puerto Rico.

Conclusion
Pollution from nonpoint sources is a major threat to waterbodies and the environment. Up to present there was none sufficiently coordinated mechanism to deal with this situation. With the development and implementation of the Plan, Puerto Rico makes an authentic effort directed at the protection and conservation of the natural resources, particularly the protection of our surface, ground and coastal waters. The MMs being implemented are an excellent tool to prevent, minimize, and control the addition of pollutants into waterbodies, conserve the quality of the resource and its designated uses.