Ministry of Environment Decommissions Illegal Extraction Machines from Haina River Bank

Ministry of Environment Decommissions Illegal Extraction Machines from Haina River Bank 
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic  2/28/2012

The National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA in Spanish) decommissioned machines and equipment that were being used to illegally extract building material from the banks of the Haina River.

Forced removals and decommissioning will continue against companies that carry out illegal extraction and those found extracting materials without the proper permits.

Officers from SENPA were acting under orders from Environment and Natural Resources Minister Ernesto Reyna Alcántara, who reiterated his Ministry´s firm decision to protect the country´s waterways from these types of illegal predators.

Forced removals and decommissioning will continue against companies that carry out illegal extraction and those found extracting materials without the proper permits.

The operation covered the banks of the Haina River including the Palavé and Manoguayabo, where one person was caught in the act and arrested, confirming that companies involved often carry out their illegal activities under the cover of night.

The Ministry of Environment, under Article 11 of the Penal Code, will present a petition to the Ministry of Justice for the definitive seizure of this equipment given that numerous fines leveled against these companies seem not to be having any effect in preventing them from continually breaking the Law of Environment and Natural Resources.

Likewise, the Justice Ministry is expected to take into account the seriousness of the crimes being committed by the owners of these companies and the implications their actions are having on the deterioration of the environment.

SENPA military officials were assisted by the elite corps of the National Police, known as the Special Forces.

Source: Ministry of Environment