JUN 05 1991 to My Wife, Nilda, and Our Children, Ernesto and Bolivar
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN PUERTO RICO by Tnbal H. Padilla-Galiano B.A., Community Planning University of Massachusetts, Boston (1989) Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of City Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology May 1991 c Tn'bal H. Padilla-Galiano The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of the Author I______t___________________andPlanning Department"f Urbtudies and Planning May 1991 Certified by Patricia Hynes Professor Thesis Supervisor Accepted by hillip L. Clay Chair of the MCP Committee MNIPACHUSETTS INST ITITE OF TECf4Nni OGY JUN 05 1991 To my wife, Nilda, and our children, Ernesto and Bolivar. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A thesis is submitted to demonstrate the student's competence as a researcher, thus it is seen as the effort of one lone man, or woman. This work, however, never was the work of only one person. I stand fully responsible for whatever inaccuracies or errors are to be found in it. But I can not claim all credit for whatever insights it may offer. That credit is shared by many who, one way or another, made it possible. At MIT I must acknowledge the friendship and support provided by fellow students like Sue Minter, Gilberto Chona, Jos6 Alicea, Christina Chiu, and Tom Kegelman. I know our friendship will stand the tests of time and distance as well as it withstood the pressures at MIT. Professors Edwin Melhndez and Patricia Hynes occupy a very special place in my MIT experience. Pat's warmth and humanism I will always cherish. Edwin is a true friend, gracias compahero. Professors Lawrence Susskind and Michael Wheeler provided sound and timely advice, and demonstrated a confidence in me and my abilities that at times I did not have. I must also acknowledge people from outside the Institute. The encouragement of friends like Estela Carri6n, Nelson Merced, Milagros Roca, Melvyn Col6n and Mirem Uriarte pushed me at times when I thought had no energy left. Professor Marie Kennedy and others at the College for Public and Community Service (CPCS) of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, provided me, as well as countless other adult students, with a rigorous undergraduate education that is as good as any, and welcomed me into a community to which I will always be loyal. When I went to Puerto Rico in August 1990 to start researching this work I had three possible case-studies in mind. For a variety of reasons, two of them did not work out. But in researching those two cases I came in contact with new and old friends that did all they could to help me in my work. To Felipe Efrece, Nilda Ve1ez, Juan Liceaga, Melanio Bobe, Wigberto Bob6, Jaime Galarza, Maximino Sepnlveda, Ruperto Chaparro, Isaac Martinez, Don Jose A. V61ez, and many others, thanks. Jorge FernAndez and the rest of Misi6n Industrial's staff not only made their files available but treated me as a compahero. They were accessible, interested and challenging. Without their input the work would have suffered greatly; without their camaraderie I would have suffered. Iris C. Cuadrado, of the Puerto Rico Planning Board, went beyond the proverbial extra mile cheerfully answering my questions, finding old documents and books, responding to long-distance requests and doing it all with a smile. Professor Vald~s Pizzinni of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, graciously spent his time answering some questions and posing many others to a stranger that showed-up in his office without notice. Dr. Neftali Garcia allowed me to rummage through his files, and critically questioned my assumptions. Knowing that there are people like Miguel Canals looking after our forests makes the whole thing that much more tolerable. Thank you, Miguel, for your help in my work; but more so, thank you for your work. A very special thank-you goes to Don Pedro Juan Vargas of GuAnica. Getting to meet him, by itself would have made this effort worthwhile. Thanks are also due to: Ms. Lina Dueo, Associate Vice- President, Puerto Rico Planning Board; Mr. Kenneth Niddrie, Ballena Development Corporation; Mr. Fernando Guzman, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board; Mr. Pedro Santana Ronda, Comite Pro Rescate de Gudnica; Mr. Enio Col6n; Ana Maria Vera, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Conservation Foundation; and Miguel Perez Vargas. Finally, there are my parents, Tnbal and Yolanda, and my brothers Luis Francisco and Chiquitin, who monitored the daily press, visited government agencies, and ran an awful lot of errands in my behalf. And a group of friends who provided me iii with a nice dinner, or place to stay, or a car, or a map, or an infinite number of other little things without which I could not have completed my work. Thanks to Carmen Ana Quijano, Kike Estrada and Rosi Mari, Loyda Martinez and Ron Richards, Hector Garcia, and Elmer Martinez. Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment in Puerto Rico by Tdbal Padilla-Galiano Thesis Supervisor: Professor Patricia Hynes In this work I present an analysis of the level and effectiveness of public participation in the EIS process in Puerto Rico and the effectiveness of said participation as it bears on the "environmental soundness" of the decision. The work is aimed at helping policy-makers, planners, and communities to frame planning as a political, interactive, social process that requires citizen involvement in order to be successful. The fundamental premise of my research is that public participation in the formal EIS process in Puerto Rico, and in planning in general, does not lead, necessarily, to public influence over public policy decisions. Instead it is the public's willingness and ability to go outside the formal EIS process that allows for a modicum of environmental protection. But, while the general public's ability to influence government decisions impacting the environment is limited, pro-development groups are able to influence government decisions with a minimum of active participation in the formal EIS process. The research is based on two case-studies. The first case is of the EIS process for the Ballena Development Corporation-Club Med proposal for a tourist development in GuAnica. The second case is the study of the government's attempt to amend the existing EIS Regulations and an analysis of the substance of the proposed amendments. I pay particular attention to the level and effectiveness of public participation in the Bahia Ballena EIS process, and to the institutional barriers / support-mechanisms that affected such participation. I also examine the public's use of tools and mechanisms outside the institutional process and the effectiveness of this strategy in influencing the final decision. In the case of the amendments I pay attention to inter-agency dynamics, to the proposed amendments' possible impact on the balance of power between the state and private development interest, and the potential impacts of the amendments on the public's ability to participate effectively in the process. In the thesis I present an alternative, citizen-centered approach to EIS that corresponds to the planning-mechanism and information dissemination objectives of EIS legislation. I also present, for discussion purposes, an outline of a new government organization that would be responsible for carrying out the citizen-centered approach to EIS. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ....................................... i Abstract ............................................... v Table of Content ....................................... vi Introduction .............................................. 1 A Theoretical-Historical Frame of Reference ............. 15 Puerto Rico's Environmental Public Policy Act ........... 28 Tourist Development at Bahia Ballena ................... 40 Amending the EIS Regulations ........................... 70 Conclusions and Recommendations ......................... 93 Appendices: Appendix I: Sources ............................... 109 Appendix II: Bibliography .......................... 124 Appendix III: Acronyms ............................ 130 Appendix IV: Location Map .......................... 132 vi INTRODUCTION It is well established in the planning literature that public participation in planning processes in general, and in environmental planning in particular, is necessary in effectively defining the problems affecting a community and formulating pragmatic responses to them. Like many other environmental laws (at the federal and state levels in the United States, as well as in other democratic nations), Puerto Rico's Environmental Public Policy Act of 1970 (popularly known in Puerto Rico and henceforth referred to as Ley 9) requires citizen participation. The process of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) established by the Ley 9, seeks public participation in an attempt to secure environmentally-sound decisions. In this work I present an analysis of the level and effectiveness of public participation in the EIS process in Puerto Rico and the effectiveness of said participation as it bears on the "environmental soundness" of the decision. THE THESIS The fundamental premise of my research is that public participation in the formal EIS process in Puerto Rico does not lead, necessarily, to public influence over the decision that is made. Instead it is the public's willingness and ability to go outside the formal EIS process that allows for a modicum of environmental