U.S. EPA, Developers of Hotel Complex in Puerto Rico Settle Violations of Clean Water Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a legal settlement with the developers of the Vanderbilt and La Concha Hotels of San Juan, Puerto Rico, for discharging pollutants into the San Juan storm water sewer system, which is connected to the Condado Lagoon. The settlement requires the payment of a $472,240 civil penalty and the expansion of an existing artificial habitat for fish in the Condado Lagoon. Under the agreement’s terms, the hotel’s developer, International Hospitality Associates S. en C. por A. (IHA-SE) and its managing partner, International Hospitality Associates Inc. (IHA-INC), will construct 30 units of reef modules at an estimated cost of $32,000.

“Pollutants, whether carried by uncontrolled storm water runoff or discharged into waterways, can seriously damage ecosystems," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "I encourage all developers in Puerto Rico to take the necessary precautions to protect rivers, streams and other water bodies from contamination.”

Under the federal Clean Water Act, pollutants may not be discharged into navigable waters of the U.S. without the proper permit. Developers of sites one acre or larger are required to implement storm water pollution prevention plans to keep soil and contaminants from running off into nearby waterways. The rate at which water carries soil and contaminants off of construction sites is typically 10 to 20 times greater than that from agricultural lands, and 1,000 to 2,000 times greater than those of forested lands.

EPA inspected the Vanderbilt Hotel and the La Concha Hotels in April and August 2006, and discovered that they had discharged storm water into the San Juan storm water sewer system from the construction sites without first applying for the required permit. EPA also found that the developers had discharged water used in the construction into the storm water sewer system without the proper permit. These discharges led to increased turbidity and bacteria in the adjacent Condado Lagoon.

The artificial reef construction funded by IHA-SE and IHA-INC is considered by EPA to be a supplemental environmental project, which is an environmentally beneficial project that a violator voluntarily agrees to undertake in partial settlement of violations, and it must be a project that a violator would not otherwise be required to perform.

Source: U.S. EPA