P.R. Laws tit. 28, § 209
(a) The Secretary shall take into consideration the following factors upon granting or denying the permits:
(1) Limits of the property for which permit is requested to extract, excavate, remove or dredge.
(2) Effects of the activity in:
(A) Adjacent areas.
(B) The erosion of the maritime-terrestrial zone and of the river banks in Puerto Rico.
(C) The physical formation of the maritime-terrestrial zone and of the rivers of Puerto Rico.
(D) The action of the waters of the rivers or of the sea on the coasts or banks of Puerto Rico.
(E) Changes in the level of the land object of the activity applied for.
(F) The tide, and as a result of possible changes thereof, in neighboring islands, reefs, channels, bays or other bodies of water whether or not used for navigation.
(G) The sand dunes located in the maritime-terrestrial zone or in any place within the geographical limits of Puerto Rico.
(H) The navigation and contamination of waters and atmospheric contamination during any phase of the operation.
(I) Access to public highways, and how traffic will be affected.
(J) Dams and lakes.
(K) The environment and natural resources in the immediate or adjacent area, with special emphasis on vulnerable species in danger of extinction.
(3) Areas devoted to storage, processing and distributing of the components removed, excavated or dredged.
(4) Means used to remove, excavate or dredge and their effects in nearby dwellings, in public highways, in dams and in other structures of private or public use.
(5) Industrial demand and value of the components of the earth’s crust in the commercial market.
(6) Benefits derived, directly or indirectly, for the area object of the activity and for adjacent areas.
(7) Purposes to which the components excavated, extracted, removed or dredged from the earth’s crust are devoted.
(8) Previous violations by the petitioner, his representatives or agents of any condition or requirement established in a permit, of any ruling, decision or order issued by the Secretary or of any provision of this chapter or of the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
(9) Capacity of the factory or roadway are of the highways or roads which give access to the place of work to handle the vehicle traffic that such operation may generate.
(b) Nonprofit associations and entities shall have priority over any other persons, associations and entities operating for other purposes, to excavate, extract, remove and dredge components of the earth’s crust in land of public domain or in land belonging to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or to any of its public corporations or municipalities, except in the case of renewal of permit.
History —June 25, 1968, No. 132, p. 314, § 4; June 3, 1976, No. 144, p. 423, § 4; June 27, 1987, No. 54, p. 180, § 3.