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EPA Announces Plan to Preserve and Protect Open Space and Marshland in the Catano Area

Release Date: 08/19/2002
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(#02073) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the formal approval of a workplan for the Las Cucharillas Land Acquisition Project, through which undeveloped nature reserves in the Catano area will be acquired and maintained. The $3.4 million project to acquire sensitive ecosystems in the Las Cucharillas Marsh area over the next few years will be funded and implemented by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). The project was developed as a supplemental benefit to the community under a 1999 Consent Decree between PREPA and EPA for violations at PREPA facilities. "This important land acquisition program will preserve and protect an invaluable natural resource for the Catano community," said Jane M. Kenny, EPA Regional Administrator. "The program demonstrates the kind of creative solutions that are possible when communities, government and industry work together." The Las Cucharillas Land Acquisition Project was designed with input from several community environmental organizations. It will ensure future social and environmental benefits for the Catano community and the San Juan Metropolitan area. The plan, as developed in the Consent Decree, also establishes the goal of preserving areas of the marsh as natural, open spaces that will reduce and prevent pollution in the area. It restricts the total surface area that can be acquired for public access or use to no more than10 percent. The project will be carried out by the School of Environmental Affairs of the Universidad Metropolitana, Ana G, Mendez University System, through a contract with PREPA that has been approved by EPA. The work plan, also approved by EPA, establishes a priority for Universidad Metropolitana to seek additional sources of funding to expand the project further than originally anticipated under the terms of the Consent Decree. This land acquisition project is only one of several supplemental environmental projects included in the 1999 Consent Decree. Other projects include: HazMat training to instruct fire department officials on handling spills of hazardous materials; hiring of an environmental review contractor from the University of Puerto Rico to keep communities informed about PREPA's efforts to comply with the Consent Decree; installation of a telemetry system in EPA's San Juan offices that allows the Agency to monitor, on a 24- hour basis, the emissions from PREPA chimneys; and emergency hazardous material spill training for PREPA employees and contractors. Las Cucharillas Marsh is located at the intersection of the municipalities of Catano, Guaynabo and Bayamon and covers approximately 1,236 acres, consisting mostly of wetlands. It also includes some mangroves and open water areas. The marsh serves as a flood plain for the Santa Catalina, Lajas and San Diego creeks, which are connected to the San Juan Bay through the Malaria Channel.