Nogales Molinelli asks the Corps of Engineers for more time to submit comments on report

The representative by accumulation Mariana Nogales Molinelli has today asked the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) to extend the comment period on the draft Integrated Coastal Feasibility and Assessment Report for an additional 30 days of Puerto Rico.

Nogueres, legislator for the Movimidento Victòria Ciuadadana, Argued in a press release that if the deadline is not extended, it will expire tomorrow without sectors with an interest in the issue having had the opportunity to participate.

In a letter to the head of the USACE environmental branch, Nogueres Molinelli stressed that it was not until last December 28 that a report from the Center for Investigative Journalism announced that the 231-page document, published only in English and with highly technical language, it was available for public evaluation. The lawyer has indicated that although the deadline for submitting comments began on November 20 and, according to the USACE website, an online seminar was held on December 10, the promotion appears to have been insufficient. as it did not reach many sectors with interest, including him.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic that has affected our lives and limited access to information due to declining group activities in which people usually share information and concerns,” the legislator stressed in noting that both residents of coastal communities and recognized members of the scientific community have raised concerns about the impact of the proposed projects and the lack of sufficient time to analyze and comment on them.

Nogales Mollineli warned that USACE plans, including one that would remove some of the beaches of Racó and Sant Joan to protect structures built in front of the sea, have the potential to profoundly impact life and the environment in the bordering communities.

“For a true impact assessment, the Corps of Engineers needs to make the space to listen to the people who are going to be affected by these projects as well as the coastal communities at the mercy of climate change that go to be excluded from these plans for not meeting certain economic criteria, which is why we need more time and information to be provided in a way that is accessible to the general public, “said the legislator.