host posted on February 18, 2009 10:38
Costa Rica’s environmental tribunal will direct its efforts to pineapple fields and the northern zone for the first sweep on the year. The Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo has ordered the cessation of dozens of construction cites on the Caribbean and Pacific coast during 2008 for violations to landscapes and waterways.
The tribunal has the power to cease construction and block access to construction sites and existing construction. The projects in violation of protocol can be subject to fines, mitigation planning, or even demolition. A new judge has been added to the team this year, Jose Vargas, a former human environment director. The tribunal is an agency of the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energia y Telecomunicaciones.
When the tribunal performs the March sweep, water pollution is expected to take the most priority. Many complaints have been filed to the tribunal regarding pineapple production efforts polluting streams and rivers with agricultural chemicals.
The tribunal will later focus on the rivers and streams of the metro area in June. The waterways here are considered open sewers which flow from the cities to the Gulf of Nicoya. The tribunal will be searching for strategic methods to stop pollution. Plans are underway to build a Central Valley treatment plant several years in the future. Developers will not be immune to the sweeps, as four sweeps are planned to include them this year. The Nicoya Peninsula will be investigated in April, while Filadelfia and Carillo will be investigated in August. The Provincia de Limon and the Caribean coast will be investigated in October. The final December sweep will cover the Osa Peninsula, Drake Bay, and Golfo Dulce.