Corruption Strikes Juan Dolio - Another environmental nightmare !

MommC

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Sewage discharge threatens the public beach and bay thanks to the granting of a building permit by corrupt officials within this govt's administration.

When we first started coming to Juan Dolio there was a small plaza on the beach side of the main street. It was an illegal construction however it housed a market and restaurants that were needed. It was bought by a foreigner and virtually wiped out by Hurricane George. He could not get permission to rebuild because he did not have title to the land.
Since this was a sorely needed commercial locale, people in the community assisted him to obtain permission to rebuild what had existed, with the understanding that when the beach project that is on the official gov't plan for the area was implemented the edifice would be torn down.
Construction has now started on a four story addition to add 12 apartments.
There is no sewage disposal facilities for the construction which is only 30-40 feet from the waters' edge. Neither is there land available to install a septic system!
Nor is there parking for the apartments.

Where will the sewage go??? INTO THE SEA !!

How can a permit be issued for an illegal construction? $$$$$
How can a permit be issued for a five story edifice 30-40 feet from the waters' edge? $$$$$
How can a permit be issued for an edifice with no sewage disposal system? $$$$$$

Why have the officials who have come to investigate left saying they could do nothing? BECAUSE IT WAS THEIR BOSS WHO SIGNED THE PERMIT! $$$$$$$$

What can be done now that the people know of the project which has official permission to proceed?? A reunion is being held today to organize a public protest , however since the owner of the project (who now somehow has managed to get a title to the property) has permission to build, what effect will a public protest have?

Should I be posting this in the legal section??
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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I suggest you document this case with photos and take it to the press. You could contact El Caribe newspaper (Victor Tejada) or Diario Libre (Elina de la Cruz who covered the tourism sector). It is best to move fast now to avoid getting an eyesore of a building to go up in the next few months.
 

MommC

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In the next few months?????

At the rate construction has been proceeding in the last five days, the second floor should be in place within two weeks!!!! The support columns have already been poured!
 

MommC

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There is a small septic system on the property......

enough to handle the usage of the two resturant/bars that exist. However definitely not large enough to handle the addition of 12 apartments (so we've heard altho' there may only be 8).
Also of concern is the fact that there doesn't seem to be adequate foundations under the building (isn't there a parable about houses built on sand??) to support the weight of the construction. How many lives will be lost if the building collapses, especially on a Saturday or Sunday when the beach is packed with people as are the two restaurants????

Apparently from what we were told at the meeting this evening there is only one person ( head of one gov't dept.???) who can possibly stop the construction from going forward given the signatures on the permit the owner has obtained. A petition will be hand delivered by a special committee tomorrow morning to him.

Did anyone mention the possibility of earthquakes???? (yes there were two tremors tonight - one around 5 PM{very mild} and another about 8-ish {more intense}).

An action committee has been formed to organize a public protest ASAP which will hopefully include people who use the beach from Los Conucos, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo, as well as the local fishermen from Juan Dolio and Guayacanes.

Oh, did I mention that some of the people who had already signed one petition that brought some of the inspectors mentioned in my earlier post to "inspect", have been contacted by telephone by the owner to say that he "knows who they are" ????? I know the owner is Italian but he's lived outside Italy for 30+ yrs. He's beginning to sound Sicilian!! (Nah...the people contacted weren't intimidated just further determined to stop this outrage!).
 

Keith R

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Jan 1, 2002
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As many times as I have witnessed or heard of such things happening in the DR, it never ceases to sadden me to hear of yet another case, particularly those in beautiful areas of such importance to the tourism sector such as Juan Dolio and Samana.

But I am quite heartened to learn that people in the DR are finally getting mad about it and organizing to oppose such abuses. I welcome in this Forum any reporting of such problems as long as it does not degenerate into pure rumor-mongering, smear campaigns and soapboxing without substance.

Your Environment Forum Moderator :glasses:
 

MommC

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Yeah....the dominicans are dragging their heels as usual (manana!)

:disappoin and contruction is proceeding at a breakneck pace. The owner intends to have the second floor poured before Semana Santa is over and the support columns for the third level ready to pour. :angry:
Every offical that has come in angry and full of bluster has shaken hands with the owner and left with a smile on thier face.
From what we've been told the only person who may be able to halt the project is his baldness himself.
Too bad for the Dominincan people. They're the ones who will suffer the loss of the beach. Us foreigners can always just use our pools or move to greener pastures!!
 

MommC

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There Is Justice In Juan Dolio Tonight!

An arrest has been made and an investigation is underway concerning the possession of a falsified presidential permit.
Also the Secretaria de Estado Sin Cartera has requested that signatures be obtained over the Semana Santa weekend to have the entire building (not just the illegal construction that has taken place the past two weeks) torn down.
If construction does not start up again tomorrow we will know that our efforts have been successful in stopping the current project.
I will post an email address Weds. for those who wish to extend their thanks to the person responsible for saving this beach for the Dominican people.
There is at least one incorruptable person in the present administration!! :classic:
 

MommC

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Now for the "Rest of the Story"!!

To date construction is still at a standstill. However a new twist is that one of the principal organizers of the "protest" was arrested Wednesday for drug dealing and is being kept in solitary in Santo Domingo. All of the titles to his villa and apartment complex and vehicles (his and his wife) have been confiscated and it has been said that even if he is "acquited" or released it will cost more to get the titles back than the properties are worth (they're worth about a million US$$).
Those of us that know this person know that this is a trumped up charge (there are two people who have accused him of selling them drugs), as he is the "heart and soul" of the community and has worked unceasingly to help the community and individuals in the community. On the day he was arrested he spent most of the morning trying to find out what could be done to help a mentally disturbed young women who has taken up residence on the sidewalk in front of our building (yes she's still there because no-one knows what he found out!!).
Because it is drug charges, not even the ambassador of his country (yes he's not Dominican) can help. Even his wife's father, who is a retired General (yes they ARE Domincan) can help....... :(
Unfortunately we will be leaving soon so we may not know what happens until we return next time (no-one here has a computer to let us know what happens).....................
 
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Holsteinson

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here is what you need to do asap!!!

You should contact the following autorities submitting a written document with photos showing this project:

Marina de Guerra local and central offices; This construction violates Law 305 from 1968 which declares 60m from high water mark towards land as an area that requires a presidential decree for any light construction.

Secretaria de medio ambiente, Subsecretaria de Gestion Ambiental y Procurador Ambiental: They would require an Environmental Impact Study of this project which I am sure the promoters do not have.

Ayuntamiento y Liga Municipal de SPM y Juan Dolio

All newspapers and TV media: hold a press conference on site!!

if the foreigners have paid all of these officials already, then you are out of luck !! :pirate:
 

MommC

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Guess I should have updated before I left........

All officials that came to "inspect" took one look and then told us that the person who had signed the "permit" was their boss (or the boss of their boss etc.) so they could do nothing. Apparently even the Bald Boss's son was by to have a look.......
Anyhoo....after almost a week and some fine manouvering by some people in very high places (with the help of Interpol,the CIA, DEA,Dominican Armed Forces Generals and others,) the fellow who was detained was released (altho' the status of his property holding and vehicles is unknown to us at this time as we are no longer there) and as far as we know, further construction has been halted. We are just waiting for a friend who left before the elections returns so we can call and find out what the situation is. We had hoped to return for a week in June however due to business commitments that will not be possible.
I will update further once I have more info.......
 

MommC

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Bad News from Juan Dolio...........

apparently the owner of the building in question is using the void between gov'ts to continue constuction.
At least the rain has slowed things down for a few days.
We phoned a contact in the town last night who reported that construction has started up again.........Who knows what we'll find when we get back.
Now that all the extranjero's are home for the summer and the gov't is in "hold" until August the owner will have time to complete the project before any thing can be done to stop him! :mad: