Under Law 64-00, each citizen’s freedom to use natural resources rests on the right to a healthy environment; the State must ensure the participation of local communities and inhabitants in the conservation, management and sustainable use of natural resources.

Among the particular objectives of Law 64-00 are:

• The prevention, regulation and control of activities that may damage the environment, contaminate ecosystems or degrade, alter or destroy the natural and cultural heritage.
• The establishment of means and opportunities for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
• The strengthening of the national system of protected areas.
• The rational management of water basins and systems, ensuring their sustainability.

Law 64-00 created the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as the entity in charge of the regulatory and managerial aspects of the environment, ecosystems and natural resources; before its enactment, no specific environmental authority existed. The Ministry operates through five vice-ministries: environmental management; soil and water; forest resources; protected areas and biodiversity; and coastal and marine resources.

II. Environmental Evaluation for Projects

To prevent, control and mitigate the impact of works, projects and activities on the environment, Law 64-00 establishes the environmental evaluation process, which relies on the following instruments: environmental impact statement (DIA); strategic environmental evaluation; environmental impact study; environmental report; environmental license; environmental permit; environmental audit; and public consultation.

Projects and activities requiring an environmental impact evaluation include, among others:

• Airports, bus and train terminals, railways, highways and public roads.
• Urban development projects, human settlements and urban planning schemes.
• Industrial plants, including sugar mills, cement works, liquor, chemical, textile, paper and brewing industries.
• Agro-industry, slaughterhouses and industrial-scale animal farming operations.
• Mining projects.
• The import, export, formulation, transformation, use, trading, storage, transport and disposal of toxic, explosive, radioactive, flammable, corrosive, reactive or otherwise dangerous substances.
• Hotels and tourism developments.
• Industrial parks, transformation industries and free zones.

Any project, installation or works, public or private, is subject to the social and environmental impact evaluations established by law and to the requirements imposed by the Ministry. Activities that do not require a permit or license are listed in the environmental regulations, but must still comply with the environmental rules issued by the Ministry.

For real estate and tourism projects, the environmental permit or license should be sequenced early in the development timeline, before land closing where possible, since it conditions construction permits and CONFOTUR classification (see Tourism Law and Real Estate Property).

III. Environmental Licenses and Permits

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources issues environmental licenses and permits upon formal request by the interested natural or legal person.

A holder of an environmental permit or license must: (i) assume administrative, civil and criminal responsibility for damage caused to the environment and natural resources resulting from breach of the terms of the license or permit; (ii) observe the applicable norms and special regulations; (iii) execute the environmental management and adaptation program (PMAA); and (iv) allow environmental supervision by the competent authority.

IV. Specialized Prosecution Office

The Attorney General’s office for the defense of the environment and natural resources (the specialized environmental prosecution office created by Law 64-00) brings legal actions and represents the public interest in prosecutions before the courts for offenses established by the law, and pursues the State’s claims for environmental damage, independently of the actions of private parties who have suffered harm to their person or property.

V. Administrative Sanctions under Law 64-00

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources imposes administrative sanctions, which may include:

• Fines from one-half (1/2) to three thousand (3,000) minimum wages, in view of the offender’s economic capacity and the magnitude of the damage.
• Limitation or restriction of the activities causing the damage or risk.
• Seizure and/or confiscation of the objects, instruments, vehicles, raw materials and products used to cause the damage.
• Provisional or temporary prohibition or suspension of the harmful activities, and, in extreme cases, partial or total closure of the establishment.

Administrative resolutions are independent of any civil or criminal liability arising from the same facts.

VI. Judicial Competence

The courts of first instance of the competent jurisdiction judge offenses against Law 64-00 in first instance. Any person or association of citizens has standing to denounce and bring actions against any act, omission or process that has caused or is causing damage, degradation or contamination to the environment and natural resources; any person with a legitimate interest may seek the measures established by law upon proof of the pertinent case.

VII. Civil Liability

Liability for environmental damage under Law 64-00 is objective (strict): whoever causes damage to the environment or natural resources is liable regardless of fault and must materially repair the damage at their own cost, restoring, where possible, the state existing before the damage occurred.

This strict-liability standard, combined with the broad standing rules of section VI, makes environmental due diligence and contractual indemnities essential in acquisitions of industrial, mining, energy and tourism assets.

VIII. Offenses against the Environment and Natural Resources

Any person who, intentionally or negligently, by action or omission, violates Law 64-00 or its complementary provisions commits an offense against the environment and natural resources, punishable by fines from five thousand (5,000) to twenty thousand (20,000) minimum wages and, depending on the magnitude of the damage, prohibition from undertaking the harmful activities for one (1) month to three (3) years.

Where the damage causes the poisoning of human groups, the destruction of species habitats or extensive irreversible contamination, the court will decide whether to close the establishment or prohibit its activities definitively.

IX. Criminal Sanctions

For crimes against the Environmental Law, the competent court may impose, by judgment:

• Six (6) days to three (3) years of imprisonment; if a death results, the Dominican Criminal Code applies.
• Fines from one-quarter (1/4) to ten thousand (10,000) minimum wages.
• Confiscation of raw materials, tools, equipment, instruments, machinery, vehicles, and the products or items derived from or used in the offense, or that endanger natural resources, the environment or human health.
• The obligation to compensate the damages caused to affected persons.
• Temporary or definitive withdrawal of the authorization, license or permit for the harmful activities.
• Destruction or neutralization of substances capable of harming human health or the environment.
• The obligation to modify or demolish constructions that breach environmental protection provisions.
• The obligation to return to their country of origin substances or dangerous elements imported in violation of the law.
• The installation of equipment needed to contain or prevent contamination or environmental degradation.
• The obligation to repair, replace, compensate or restore, where possible, the natural resource eliminated, destroyed, diminished or degraded.

In applying sanctions, the court weighs the magnitude and significance of the breach, the offender’s intent, recidivism, and the socio-economic conditions of those who caused the damage.

This publication is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. Any transaction related to any of the described aspects shall require advice and be specifically consulted with the Firm in advance. © Arthur & Castillo. All Rights Reserved. Next