Manejos de los recursos acuíferos en Puerto Rico y el mundo:

Respuestas a esta discusión

Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el agosto 24, 2008 a las 4:52pm

Otros Enlaces:

- Ley # 136-Jun.1976- Ley de Aguas (completa)

- Manejo Alcantarillado- AAA

- Ley #279 - 2003 (Prohibiendo pieza "Estrella")

Archivos adjuntos:

• ley_136_3jun76_enmen - Ley de Aguas.pdf, 69 KB
• ALCANTARILLADO AAA.pdf, 1.8 MB
• ley_279_2003- ESTRELLA AAA.pdf, 20 KB

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el agosto 25, 2008 a las 4:20pm

25-Agosto-2008 | Editorial de El Nuevo Día


A cerrar el grifo del desperdicio

Una corporación como la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA) que admite que no sabe dónde va a parar el 62% del agua que costosamente produce, necesita poner sus barbas en remojo.



Pero si bochornosa e inconcebible resulta esta admisión, que después de todo no es nueva, más indignante es que la misma se produzca simultánea con el llamado de la AAA a sus abonados a economizar agua y cuando acabamos de pasar por un periodo de escasez de lluvia en el que se hizo presente el fantasma del racionamiento.



Históricamente, y ahora no es la excepción, hemos respaldado sin reservas toda política pública dirigida a promover el uso prudente del recurso agua. Por eso no hay ningún cuestionamiento al llamado que hace en estos momentos la corporación.



Sin embargo, el asunto de fondo y el que nos ocupa es el pobre o casi ningún avance de la Isla en materia de preservación del agua potable.



Ante esta situación, la AAA ha estado colocando el peso de la responsabilidad en la ciudadanía, al enfocar su trabajo en hacer que la gente reduzca el consumo de agua, cuando el mayor problema reside en su propia casa. Se trata de un asunto trascendental para el que la AAA no ha presentado nada más que planes.



Por demasiados años ha sido un misterio el paradero de más de la mitad del agua que sale de las 129 plantas de filtración de la AAA.



Y el más reciente informe dado a conocer por el director ejecutivo de la agencia, José Ortiz, como en tantas ocasiones anteriores, se atribuye la pérdida a las roturas y salideros en el sistema de tuberías de distribución a lo largo de unas 7,700 millas.



Partiendo de esa misma premisa, y en uno de tantos intentos por corregir la vieja anomalía, fue que en el pasado el Gobierno optó por ofrecer el pago de incentivos por reducción en el número de salideros a una empresa privada, comisionada entonces a administrar el caótico sistema de acueductos. No obstante, en el 2001 la Oficina del Contralor reveló que el operador privado no mantenía una base confiable de datos de salideros y que una cantidad sustancial de las plantas no contaba con el equipo para contabilizar la producción de agua o si lo tenía, no funcionaba.



La recurrencia de estos hallazgos, tanto en informes internos como externos, llevó a la AAA a crear el Programa de Agua no Contabilizada, con la idea de actualizar su base de clientes, entre otros objetivos.



Para marzo de 2008, la corporación informó que había completado la instalación de metros de flujo en 19 plantas y que comenzó la recopilación de datos de producción de todas las plantas. Y esta semana, aunque reiteró la pérdida de 169 millones de galones de agua por día, el informe de Ortiz tiene una novedad. Según dijo, la cantidad de salideros se ha reducido exponencialmente durante los pasados años, de 14,000 reportados en 1994 a 1,198 en la actualidad.



Quiere decir que el mismo torrente de agua se escapa por una cantidad ínfimamente menor de salideros. Aquí faltan explicaciones.



También podrían faltar explicaciones en cuanto a las cifras reales del agua producida y la que se pierde, según han alertado tanto el hidrólogo del Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos, Sigfredo Torres, como el reconocido planificador ambiental, José Rivera Santana.



Mientras llegan estas explicaciones la AAA tiene que aterrizar en un operativo de rescate de su infraestructura que tape los huecos físicos y administrativos por donde se está botando tanto dinero de los contribuyentes y abonados.

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de Marianela Delgado el agosto 25, 2008 a las 7:36pm

El link de "contador AAA" esta interesante. Nunca me habia preocupado por leerlo. Ahora lo tomare en cuenta para estar pendiente. Por otro lado, voy a verificar ya que creo que hace más de diez años no lo cambian.

Gracias por la orientación!

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el septiembre 13, 2008 a las 5:12pm

Los acuíferos: fuentes naturales de agua pura
guía del maestro
preparado por: Arlene Pérez Cintrón

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el octubre 19, 2008 a las 9:39pm

Necesito el parecer de los demás en este foro:

En un sistema en Net Metering: ¿Debe estar el contador de la casa como parte del sistema a ser certificado por laboratorio externo a la AEE?

Sus observaciones serán articuladas en un documento a ser trabajado como borrador para enmiendas a los reglamentos para equipos y sistemas renovables en; Aero, Foto, Hidro y bio.

Antes del salir para el seminario sobre "Cap &Trade", nos reunimos con la Adm. Energía de PR.

Asistieron por parte de la AAE: Lcda. Amador- Ayudante Especial del Administrador y el Ing. Benítez - Asesor.

Por parte del capítulo de PR del USGBC: Arq. Jeanette Rullán - Presidenta

Por APEV: Ing. Sánchez- Asesor , Allan Rivera-Presidente

Asuntos que tratamos:

La AAE quiere que se traten los sistemas eólicos, fotovoltaicos, hidrólicos y biocombustibles con reglamentos específicos.

Sobre Eólicos, se dejó efectivo el reglamento de 1989 de la administración en lo que se trata el tema de fotovoltaico (Ver nuestro blog en eólicos para copia).

Sobre Fotovoltaico:

El borrador de reglamento sugerido por AAE, ACONER y CIAPR estará para el lunes en este blog. en resumen:

- Equipos certificados en la Florida Energy Center

- No incluyen certificar metros digitales ni metros bidirecionales a ser instalados por la AEE

- Garantías y mantenimiento según Ley #114

- Educación Continuada certificada según ley #114, más :

- Ingenieros electricistas:
- 40 horas en temas específicos

- Peritos Electricistas:
- Tenemos especial preocupación en la manera que la AAE aborda este tema. Son 7,000 PE en Puerto Rico. Necesitamos al menos el 10% de estos certificados para cubrir el 1% de las necesidades de la isla y el CPEPR se niega a que se le someta a las mismas condiciones que a ingenieros así como el gobierno intervenir en asuntos de colegiados. El acercamiento ha sido hostíl entre las partes dándole APEV mucho peso a varios de los alegatos de los PE.

APEV le ha dicho al CPEPR que para que abramos los abonados residenciales las puertas de nuestro hogar a las renovables, queremos estar seguros de que el Perito conoce los más recientes seminarios de equipo e instalación así como la parte legal y administrativa para certificar Peritos Electricistas ante las juntas y agencias certificantes.

El otro escollo es el Departamento de Hacienda. Se desconoce el proceso de certificación que le exigirá a la AAE para que el contratista certifique y entregue al dueño de la residencia para reclamar su crédito contributivo de 2007-2008, 2008-2009.

Tenemos que prepararnos para los llamados "Comités de transición". En ellos, colocaremos algunos de los pasos a dar en los primeros 100 días en cualquier dirección. Su participación es necesaria.

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de Marianela Delgado el octubre 23, 2008 a las 11:50pm

Holcim Honors Top Green Building Projects in North America

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el octubre 25, 2008 a las 12:49pm

Otros gases que debemos vigilar...
A miembros de The Climate Project Puerto Rico y APEV
Javier Jimenez Jirau

Hoy a las 10:03a.m.
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Fri Oct 24, 7:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Carbon dioxide isn't the only greenhouse gas that worries climate scientists. Airborne levels of two other potent gases — one from ancient plants, the other from flat-panel screen technology — are on the rise, too. And that's got scientists concerned about accelerated global warming.

The gases are methane and nitrogen trifluoride. Both pale in comparison to the global warming effects of carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels. In the past couple of years, however, these other two gases have been on the rise, according to two new studies. The increase is not accounted for in predictions for future global warming and comes as a nasty surprise to climate watchers.

Methane is by far the bigger worry. It is considered the No. 2 greenhouse gas based on the amount of warming it causes and the amount in the atmosphere. The total effect of methane on global warming is about one-third that of man-made carbon dioxide.

Methane comes from landfills, natural gas, coal mining, animal waste, and decaying plants. But it's the decaying plants that worry scientists most. That's because thousands of years ago billions of tons of methane were created by decaying Arctic plants. It lies frozen in permafrost wetlands and trapped in the ocean floor. As the Arctic warms, the concern is this methane will be freed and worsen warming. Scientists have been trying to figure out how they would know if this process is starting.

It's still early and the data are far from conclusive, but scientists say they are concerned that what they are seeing could be the start of the release of the Arctic methane.

After almost eight years of stability, atmospheric methane levels — measured every 40 minutes by monitors near remote coastal cliffs — suddenly started rising in 2006. The amount of methane in the air has jumped by nearly 28 million tons from June 2006 to October 2007. There is now more than 5.6 billion tons of methane in the air.

"If it's sustained, it's bad news," said MIT atmospheric scientist Ron Prinn, lead author of the methane study, which will be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters Oct. 31. "This is a heads up. We're seeing smoke. It remains to be seen whether this is the fire we're really worried about.

"Whenever methane increases, you are accelerating climate change," he said.

By contrast, nitrogen trifluoride has been considered such a small problem that it's generally been ignored. The gas is used as a cleaning agent during the manufacture of liquid crystal display television and computer monitors and for thin-film solar panels.

Earlier efforts to determine how much nitrogen trifluoride is in the air dramatically underestimated the amounts, said Ray Weiss, a geochemistry professor with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author on a nitrogen trifluoride paper. It is set to be published in Geophysical Letters in November.

Nitrogen trifluoride levels in the air — measured in parts per trillion — have quadrupled in the last decade and increased 30-fold since 1978, according to Weiss, who is also a co-author of the methane paper.

It contributes only 0.04 percent of the total global warming effect that man-made carbon dioxide does from the burning of fossil fuels.

But nitrogen trifluoride is one of the more potent gases, thousands of times stronger at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Methane is more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a per molecule basis. Carbon dioxide remains the most important gas because of its huge levels and rapid growth.

Still, methane and the potential of future increases is a worry, Weiss and others say.

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el octubre 25, 2008 a las 12:57pm

Otros gases que debemos vigilar...
Continuación...

Its recent increase coincides with anecdotal evidence of more methane being released in the shallow parts of the Arctic Ocean. A scientific survey in late summer found methane levels in the east Siberian Sea up to 10,000 times higher than normal, said Orjan Gustafsson, an environmental scientist at Stockholm University who has just returned from the six-week survey.

Prinn's data are consistent with the early results of "whole fields of methane bubbles" that Gustafsson said he found last month.

The highest methane level increases were seen in monitoring stations in Alert, Canada, which with recent anecdotal evidence points to plants in permafrost thawing and decaying.

Stanford University environmental scientist Stephen Schneider cautioned that the recent increase is new and that "it is pretty hard to be very confident of any trend or big story yet on methane."

Methane levels have kept scientists guessing for the past decade. They were on the rise until about 1997, then soared in 1998 and then leveled off until jumping again in 2006.

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el diciembre 19, 2008 a las 1:01am

YEAR-END PRESS CONFERENCE
BY

U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON


UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK



Wednesday, December 17, 2008


Ladies and gentlemen,

Further challenges lie immediately before us. 2009 will be the year of climate change. This weekend, I returned from Poznan, Poland, after having attended the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference. We made progress. We agreed to a work plan and had a good exchange of views on a shared vision for long-term cooperation. We agreed to operationalize the Adaptation Fund. All recognized that climate change cannot await a resolution of the economic crisis. Most agreed on the need for what I call a “Green New Deal.”

We have only twelve short months to Copenhagen. We have no time to waste. We must reach a global climate change deal before the end of the year ? one that is balanced, comprehensive and ratifiable by all nations.

Success will require extraordinary leadership. The European Union's historic agreement on the climate change and energy package, reached last weekend, demonstrates its commitment. I salute President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission for their strenuous leadership. The United States under its new President-elect, Barack Obama, also promises bold new leadership.

I myself will continue to push the pace and galvanize political will. I plan to convene a climate change summit at the beginning of the 64th General Assembly. But I expect that world leaders will need to meet before then ? perhaps often ? if we are to conclude 2009 in triumph. Working together, we can fulfill our responsibilities to the planet and its people, and our responsibility to deliver.

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el diciembre 19, 2008 a las 1:04am

Press Release No.835
For use of the information media
Not an official record



2008 AMONG THE TEN WARMEST YEARS; MARKED BY WEATHER EXTREMES AND SECOND-LOWEST LEVEL OF ARCTIC ICE COVER

Geneva, 16 December 2008 (WMO) – The year 2008 is likely to rank as the 10th warmest year on record since the beginning of the instrumental climate records in 1850, according to data sources compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The global combined sea-surface and land-surface air temperature for 2008 is currently estimated at 0.31°C/0.56°F above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.00°C/57.2°F. The global average temperature in 2008 was slightly lower than that for the previous years of the 21st century due in particular, to the moderate to strong La Niña that developed in the latter half of 2007.

The Arctic Sea ice extent dropped to its second-lowest level during the melt season since satellite measurements began in 1979. Climate extremes, including devastating floods, severe and persistent droughts, snow storms, heatwaves and cold waves, were recorded in many parts of the world.

This preliminary information for 2008 is based on climate data from networks of land-based weather stations, ships and buoys, as well as satellites. The data are continuously collected and disseminated by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of WMO’s 188 Members and several collaborating research institutions. Final updates and figures for 2008 will be published in March 2009 in the annual WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate.

WMO’s global temperature analysis is based on two complementary sources. One is the combined dataset maintained by both the Hadley Centre of the UK Meteorological Office, and the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, UK. The other dataset is maintained by the US Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).



Regional temperature anomalies
2008 again was a year with above-average temperatures all over Europe. A large geographical domain, including north-western Siberia and part of the Scandinavian region, recorded a remarkably mild winter. January and February were very mild over nearly all of Europe. Monthly mean temperature anomalies for these months exceeded +7°C in some places in Scandinavia. In most parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden, winter 2007/08 was the warmest recorded since the beginning of measurements. In contrast, the boreal winter was remarkably cold for a large part of Eurasia extending eastward from Turkey to China. Some places in Turkey had their coldest January nights in nearly 50 years. This extreme cold weather caused hundreds of casualties in Afghanistan and China.

February was a cold month across most of the USA Midwest, with average daily temperatures ranging from 4.0°C to 5.0°C below normal in some areas.

A very cold episode, due to an early Antarctic air mass outbreak, occurred in May in southern South America, particularly in central Argentina, where the minimum temperature dropped below –6°C in some locations, breaking annual absolute minimum temperature records. Conversely, mean July temperatures were more than +3°C above average in large parts of Argentina, Paraguay, southeast Bolivia and southern Brazil, making it the warmest July in the last 50 years for many locations. Also, November broke historical temperature records in association with an unusual heatwave. Central Argentina, including Buenos Aires city, had its warmest November in the last 50 years.

In March, southern Australia experienced a record heatwave that brought scorching temperatures across the region. Adelaide experienced its longest running heatwave on record, with 15 consecutive days of maximum temperatures above 35°C. Also, several heatwaves occurred in south-eastern Europe and the Middle East during April, associated with a very warm spring observed, not only in this region but also in a large part of the rest of Europe and Asia.



Prolonged drought
At the end of July, most parts of the Southeast of North America were classified as having moderate to exceptional drought, based on the US Drought Monitor. The continuous dry conditions across northern and central California hindered efforts to contain numerous large wildfires.

Southern British Columbia in Canada experienced its fifth driest period in 61 years. In Europe, Portugal and Spain had their worst drought winter in decades.

In South America, a large part of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay experienced a prolonged and intense drought during most of 2008, which caused severe damage to agriculture.

Dry conditions in south-eastern Australia reinforced long-term drought over much of that region, with Victoria having its ninth-driest year on record. These conditions exacerbated severe water shortages in the agriculturally important Murray-Darling Basin, resulting in widespread crop failures in the area. September and October, in particular, were exceptionally dry in this region.



Flooding and intense storms
In January, 1.3 million square kilometres (km2) in 15 provinces in southern China were covered by snow and experienced persistent low temperature and icing. This weather affected the daily life of millions of people who suffered from disruptions of transport, energy supply and power transmission, as well as damage to agriculture.

In Canada, several all-time snowfall records were set during winter reaching more than 550 centimetres (cm) in many locations, including Quebec City. The accumulation of snow was heavy enough to cause numerous roofs to collapse, killing at least four people. In Toronto, the 2007/2008 winter was the third snowiest on record in the 70 year of snow measurement records. At the end of January, Prince Edward Island was struck by one of the worst ice storms in decades. Nearly 95 per cent of the province lost power for a time.

In the United States of America, heavy April rainfall combined with previously saturated ground and snowmelt resulted in widespread major flooding that affected Missouri and southern Indiana. During the month of June, daily precipitation records were broken in many parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. Also, this year was one of the top 10 years for tornado-related fatalities (123 total) since reliable records began in 1953. According to statistics, from January to August, 1 489 tornadoes were recorded, marking a record since 1953.

In Germany, between May and September, a large number of strong thunderstorms with heavy rain, tornadoes and hail storms were observed, causing some casualties and significant damages.

Sub-Saharan Africa, including West and East Africa, was affected by heavy rains, which caused the worst-ever recorded flooding in Zimbabwe and affected more than 300 000 people in West Africa during the monsoon season.

In northern Africa, heavy and extended rainfall during the period of September to November affected Algeria and Morocco, causing important infrastructure damage and several casualties in many cities and villages. Extreme rainfall intensities were recorded in northern provinces of Morocco with up to 200 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in less than six hours. Within the same climate anomaly context and period, intense rainfall was also recorded in south-western Europe. In Valencia, Spain, a total rainfall of 390 mm was recorded in 24 hours, of which 144 mm were recorded in less than one hour. In France, heavy and intense rains affected several locations from 31 October to 2 November. In three days, total rainfall reached 500 mm in some locations, which caused severe flooding and flash floods particularly in central and east-central parts of the country.

Several major rain events affected eastern Australia in January and February, causing significant flooding, particularly in Queensland. In November, widespread heavy rains occurred across most of the continent, ending an extremely dry period in central Australia. Associated severe thunderstorms caused damage from winds, hail and flash floods in many places.

In southern Asia, including India, Pakistan and Vietnam, heavy monsoon rains and torrential downpours produced flash floods, killing more than 2 600 people, and displacing 10 million people in India.

In western Colombia, continuous above-normal rainfall resulted in severe flooding that affected at least half a million people and caused extensive damage and landslides during the second half of the year.

In Southern Brazil, heavy rainfall affected Santa Catarina State from 22 to 24 November causing severe flooding and deadly mudslides, which affected 1.5 million people and resulted in 120 casualties and left 69,000 people homeless.



Weakening of La Niña
The first quarter of 2008 was characterized by a La Niña event of moderate to strong intensity, which began in the third quarter of 2007 and prevailed through May 2008. The large area of cool surface waters over the bulk of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, combined with warmer-than-normal conditions in the equatorial western Pacific, represented typical La Niña forcing on the global atmosphere; many climate patterns reflected those normally observed during a La Niña event, both in the vicinity of, and remote from, the tropical Pacific. La Niña conditions have gradually weakened from their peak strength in February, and near-neutral conditions prevailed during the later half of 2008.


Tropical cyclones season
The most deadly tropical cyclone recorded in 2008 was Cyclone Nargis, which developed in the North Indian Ocean and hit Myanmar in early May, killing nearly 78 000 people and destroying thousands of homes. Nargis was the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 1991 and resulted in the worst natural disaster on record for Myanmar.

A total of 16 named tropical storms formed in the Atlantic including eight hurricanes, five of which were major hurricanes at Category 3 or higher (averages are eleven, six and two, respectively). The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was devastating, with many casualties and widespread destruction in the Caribbean, Central America and the United States of America. For the first time on record, six consecutive tropical cyclones (Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike) made landfall on the United States of America, and a record three major hurricanes (Gustav, Ike and Paloma) hit Cuba. Hanna, Ike and Gustav were the deadliest hurricanes during the season, causing several hundred of casualties in the Caribbean, including 500 deaths in Haiti.

In the East Pacific, 17 named tropical storms were recorded, of which seven evolved into hurricanes and 2 of them into major hurricanes (averages are sixteen, nine and four, respectively).

In the western North Pacific, 22 named tropical storms were recorded, and 10 of them were classified as typhoons compared to the long-term average of 27 and 14, respectively. Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and south-eastern China were the most affected by these events. For the first time since 2001, no named tropical cyclones made landfall in Japan this year.



Antarctic ozone hole larger than in 2007
The ozone hole area reached a maximum of 27 million km2 on 12 September. This is less than in the record year 2006 (more than 29 million km2) but larger than in 2007 (25 million km2). The variation in the size of the ozone hole from one year to another can be, to a large extent, explained by the meteorological conditions in the stratosphere.



Artic sea ice down to second-lowest extent
Arctic sea ice extent during the 2008 melt season dropped to its second-lowest level since satellite measurements began in 1979, reaching the lowest point in its annual cycle of melt and growth on 14 September 2008. Average sea ice extent over the month of September, a standard measure in the scientific study of Arctic sea ice, was 4.67 million km2. The record monthly low, set in 2007, was 4.3 million km2.

Because ice was thinner in 2008, overall ice volume was less than that in any other year.

A remarkable occurrence in 2008 was the dramatic disappearance of nearly one-quarter of the massive ancient ice shelves on Ellesmere Island. Ice 70 metres thick, which a century ago covered 9 000 km2, has been chiselled down to just 1 000 km2 today, underscoring the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic. The season strongly reinforces the 30-year downward trend in Artic sea ice extent.



Information sources
This press release was issued in collaboration with the Hadley Centre of the UK Meteorological Office, the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, UK, and the National Climatic Data Centre, National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service and National Weather Service of NOAA and the National Snow and Ice Data Centre in the United States of America. Other contributors are the NMHSs of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Uruguay. The African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD, Niamey), the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Centro Internacional para la Investigación del Fenómeno El Niño (CIIFEN, Guayaquil, Ecuador), the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC, Nairobi, Kenya), the SADC Drought Monitoring Centre (SADC DMC, Gabarone, Botswana) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) also contributed.


WMO is the United Nations' authoritative voice on weather, climate and water


For more information please contact:
Ms Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Communications and Public Affairs, WMO.
Tel.: +41 (0)22 730 83 15;
cpa@wmo.int

Ms Lisa M.P. Munoz, Press Officer, Tel. +41 (0) 22 730 82 13.
E-mail:
lmunoz@wmo.int

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el abril 4, 2009 a las 5:05am

TUMBE AL BOLSILLO DE ABONADOS DE LA AAA

escrito por Playero de P11
viernes, 03 de abril de 2009
La Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados incurre en sobre facturación e impide en referir la querella a un árbitro en violación a la Ley 33 de 1985. Dicha sobre facturación puede constituir un "tumbe" " millonario al pueblo que puede superar los $15 o $20 millones.

TUMBE AL BOLSILLO DE LOS ABONADOS DE LA AAA

PODRÍA SUPERAR LOS $20 MILLONES



COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

Gurabo – Un residente de este municipio le está reclamando a la AAA que con el cambio en el sistema de facturación en enero de 2008, esa agencia de gobierno le facturó dos veces el consumo facturado y cobrado de diciembre de 2007. Juan Vélez Rivera, residente en el barrio Jaguas de Gurabo, le reclama a la AAA que al duplicarle el consumo de metros cúbicos, esto tuvo un efecto progresivo debido al sistema escalonado de costo llamado “bloques”, mediante el cual el coste de un metro cúbico varía del nivel de consumo. “En mi caso, el efecto progresivo fue que la AAA me cobró ilegalmente la cantidad de $64.80”, dijo Vélez Rivera.

Según alega el abonado en su querella, el “tumbe” a su bolsillo ocurre cuando la AAA le facturó en enero de 2008 una cantidad que resultó de la comparación de la lectura de ese mes (enero de 2008) con la lectura de dos meses previos (noviembre de 2007), cuando correspondía hacerlo contra la lectura del mes anterior (diciembre de 2007).

El derecho de los abonados para tramitar querellas por facturaciones excesivas o incorrectas de la AAA y la AEE, está garantizado por la Ley 33 de 27 de junio de 1985, la cual obliga a la agencia a referir la querella a un abogado que no sea empleado de la entidad gubernamental “para que actúe como examinador o árbitro y dilucide los planteamientos del abonado”. El Sr. Vélez Rivera denuncia que desde septiembre de 2008 la querella está ante el Presidente de la AAA, Ing. José Ortiz Vázquez, sin que éste haya referido el asunto a un árbitro, en abierta violación a la ley.

Vélez Rivera señaló que la verdadera razón detrás de la negativa de la AAA para cumplir con la ley es para evitar que se descubra que hubo sobre facturación generalizada cuando hizo el el cambio en el sistema de facturación, que en su caso fue de $64.80, acción que pudiera representar un tumbe millonario a los abonados de la agencia. Al considerar que la AAA tiene más de un millón de abonados, el abonado reclamante señala que “si de manera conservadora calculamos un promedio de $15 o $20 por abonado en la sobre facturación, entonces habría que concluir que la AAA le facturó en exceso a los abonados de la agencia sobre $15 o $20 millones, lo que sin duda sería un gran tumbe millonario al bolsillo del ciudadano”.

Vélez Rivera indicó que confía en que la prensa libre del país divulgue este atropello contra el bolsillo de los ciudadanos, ya esquilmados por los arbitrios, el IVU y la inflación, y se obligue a la AAA a devolver, con intereses, el dinero cobrado de más al pueblo.

“Es necesario que haya una presión pública sobre este asunto para que se resuelva el mismo, porque de lo contrario la alternativa sería recurrir a los tribunales para que obliguen a la AAA a cumplir con la ley”, lo que según indicó Vélez Rivera, "conllevaría incurrir en gastos en un trámite legal que sin duda superarían la cantidad que la AAA me cobró en exceso".

“Hace más o menos un mes, el Tribunal de Apelaciones revocó una decisión de la AAA en mi contra relacionado con otra factura (de julio de 2007) y ordenó acreditarme $88.00, en un caso que llevé por derecho propio e incurrí en gastos que superaron los $100.00”, enfatizó Vélez Rivera al reclamar que con ese caso (KLRA200801132) “pude corroborar que la justicia no está accesible al ciudadano promedio”. Indicó que el ciudadano común no continúa con una reclamación si sabe que lograr su objetivo le va a costar más. “Las agencias conocen esa realidad y por eso abusan”, terminó diciendo Vélez Rivera al reiterar el llamado a la prensa y a la legislatura para que investigue este asunto y con el propósito de que se haga justicia verdadera y se rescate la fe en nuestras instituciones de gobierno y civiles.

En Gurabo, Puerto Rico, a 3 de abril de 2009.



Contacto: Juan Vélez Rivera

Email: playerodep11@gmail.com

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Vínculo permanente Respuesta de OFICINA VIRTUAL APEV el julio 22, 2009 a las 1:02pm

Press Release
Region 2 - New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

EPA Fines Six Municipalities Across Puerto Rico
for Improper Stormwater Management

Contacts: John Senn, (212) 637-3667, senn.john@epa.gov; Brenda Reyes, (787) 977-5869, reyes.brenda@epa.gov

(San Juan, P.R. – July 22, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed individual complaints against the municipalities of Cayey, Hatillo, Las Piedras, Loiza, Rio Grande and Toa Alta in Puerto Rico for failing to comply with federal Clean Water Act requirements related to stormwater management for small municipal sewer systems. The six municipalities face a total amount of $291,177 in fines.

“In order to prevent harmful discharges from their sewer systems, EPA is forcing these six municipalities to comply with federal clean water laws,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator George Pavlou. “Discharges from small municipal sewer systems can contaminate drinking water and recreational waterways, impairing these valuable resources.”

EPA ordered the municipalities to comply with stormwater requirements for sewer systems earlier this year after they were unable to provide evidence to EPA of compliance following a request 2007.

Breakdown of fines:

Cayey $48,920

Hatillo $48,071

Las Piedras $47,738

Loíza $47,409

Río Grande $49,393

Toa Alta $49,646

Total $291,177

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, established under the federal Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating sources that discharge pollutants to waters in the United States. Municipalities are required to apply for NPDES permit coverage in order to operate the sewer systems. Under this permit, operators are required to develop and implement a stormwater management program to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable to protect water quality. A total of 70 municipalities in Puerto Rico are currently subject to these requirements.

Municipal stormwater discharges are of concern because they often contain high concentrations of pollutants like fertilizers, pesticides, oil, litter and sediments. Stormwater runoff picks up and transports untreated pollutants into waterways. Municipal stormwater discharges can result in the destruction of habitat, fish mortality, and contamination of drinking water supplies and recreational waterways.

For more about EPA’s municipal storm water permitting program visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/munic.cfm. Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/useparegion2 and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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