The Ministry of Environment has sent out a press release reporting that it has seized several trucks that were transporting illegally sourced sand and gravel for construction. The Ministry says that the confiscations were carried out to put a stop to the illegal exploitation of natural resources that is causing the degradation, alteration and destruction of riverbeds. Most of the trucks were detained in San Cristóbal in operations carried out by members of the Servicios Nacional de Protección Ambiental (SENPA).
Resolution No.0015-2017 issued last year suspended the extraction, transport and sale of loose or unconsolidated materials or sediments on beaches, rivers, lakes, wetlands, springs or deposit areas of the Dominican Republic, until the Ministry determined the feasibility of the sustainable use of these materials and established the corresponding authorization procedures for their extraction.
The Ministry said the confiscations were made after the truck operators ignored the resolution.
Ministry of Environment
El Dia
19 February 2018
