Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said he hopes to approve a major permitting reform before the last day to pass bills today, but acknowledged that a dispute over the definition of the maritime-terrestrial zone (ZMT) has become one of the most sensitive issues in the negotiations. Rivera Schatz explained that senators met this week with […]
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said he hopes to approve a major permitting reform before the last day to pass bills today, but acknowledged that a dispute over the definition of the maritime-terrestrial zone (ZMT) has become one of the most sensitive issues in the negotiations.
Rivera Schatz explained that senators met this week with retailers, contractors, developers, mayors, and other stakeholders to review an advanced draft of a substitute permitting bill. Additional meetings will continue today to resolve remaining differences. He said the Senate already has a “final draft that is quite advanced,” and that his intention is to approve the measure today so it can be sent to the House. Still, he cautioned that the final decision depends on whether a consensus is reached. “(Today) I will be able to announce whether we will approve it this session or whether it will remain for August,” he said.
The most delicate point in the negotiations is the definition of the ZMT. At a meeting this week, several participants urged the Senate to adopt the version in House Bill 25, a separate bill amending the 1968 Piers and Ports law and the 1977 Rangers law. Rivera Schatz rejected that approach, arguing that the House bill does not offer a true definition. “With all frankness, what they call the definition in House Bill 25 is not a definition; it is a process,” he said. He insisted that the substitute bill’s version is based on recommendations from technical experts and that the Senate’s goal is to harmonize the definition in a way that responsibly balances economic development and environmental protection.
The substitute bill adopts a detailed, highly specific definition of the ZMT. In clearer language, the bill defines the Maritime Terrestrial Zone as the part of Puerto Rico’s coastline reached by the sea under the strongest natural tidal conditions, specifically the equinoctial spring tide at perigee.
In areas where tides can be measured, the zone extends inland as far as the tide reaches. In places where tides are not noticeable, it extends to the point reached by ordinary, non-cyclonic seasonal waves. The definition also includes land gained from the sea and riverbanks up to where the tide is still perceptible. It covers beaches, dunes, tidal flats, mangroves, and any coastal areas that become flooded because of the direct, even if not constant, action of seawater. Under the substitute bill, the ZMT is part of the public domain, and the boundary of that public domain shifts with the natural features of the coast, extending to the back of the primary dune, the landward edge of beachrock, the permanent vegetation line, the top of cliffs, the edge of coastal roads, the seawall, the elevation reached by the equinoctial spring tide in tidal flats and mangroves, or the point reached by the tide inside coastal caves.
The approach in House Bill 25 differs significantly not only in how it defines the ZMT but also in the additional protections it creates. The House bill ties the ZMT to the maximum horizontal reach of the astronomical tide during equinoxes and codifies a public right to use the dry beach for non-commercial recreation up to the line of permanent vegetation. This means that even when the dry sand area is technically private property, the public must be allowed access for traditional recreational use. The bill goes further by creating two new coastal servitudes that bind all coastal properties. The first is a 20-meter salvage servitude, measured inland from the ZMT, that must remain unobstructed so emergency responders, lifeguards, and government agencies can access the coast for rescue and evacuation. The second is a six-meter surveillance servitude, also measured inland from the ZMT, reserved for government patrols, environmental monitoring, and enforcement. Together, these provisions effectively create a twenty-six-meter strip of restricted private use behind the ZMT, limiting construction and fencing and expanding the government’s ability to access and monitor the coastline.
Supporters of House Bill 25 argue that these measures modernize Puerto Rico’s coastal protections, strengthen public access and provide tools to manage erosion and climate‑driven risks. Critics, including some developers and property owners, view the servitudes as an expansion of government control over private land that could affect property values and development potential.
Rivera Schatz has signaled that the Senate prefers a definition that is clear, technically grounded and less procedural. “Our aim is to address the definition in the most responsible and precise way, so that there is no controversy between economic development and environmental protection,” he said.
Today is the last day to pass bills in the current session that ends next week.
