P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 156
The following functions, faculties and duties at present assigned by law to other agencies of the Commonwealth are hereby transferred to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources for their execution by the Secretary:
(a) The powers and functions of the Mining Commission and of its Executive Secretary conferred by the Puerto Rico Mining Law, §§ 110—124 of Title 28, and the Mining Commission and the office of Executive Secretary are hereby abolished.
(b) The powers and functions of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works conferred by §§ 429—429i of this title and the office of Assistant Secretary [in charge] of Natural Resources is hereby abolished.
(c) The powers, faculties, functions and activities of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works on flood prevention and conservation of rivers and beaches conferred by §§ 225—225b of Title 12 and on the extraction of materials from the earth’s crust conferred by §§ 206—222 of Title 28.
(d) The powers, functions and activities of the Public Service Commission related with the granting of franchise for the use of public waters and the enforcement of the Law of Waters and the responsibility of the police of waters and all the functions with regard to said faculties and responsibilities.
(e) The functions and activities related with geological and mineralogical surveys in charge of the Industrial Research Department of the Economic Development Administration.
(f) The powers and functions of the Secretary of Agriculture conferred by the “Game Act”, Number 374, May 11, 1950; “Fisheries Act”, Act No. 83 of May 13, 1936; “Forest Law”, Number 22, Nov. 22, 1917; the powers and functions with respect to forest lands and hatcheries of Acts Number 19, May 28, 1925; Number 38, April 25, 1930; Number 39, April 25, 1930; Number 307, April 13, 1946; Number 149, May 9, 1945 and § 261 of Title 12; for the protection of hydrographical basins and flood control of §§ 252, 253 and 254 of Title 12.
(g) The powers and functions of the Board on Environmental Quality with respect to the sinking of wells for the pumping of subterranean waters conferred by § 11, subsection (23) of the Public Policy Environmental Act.
(h) The records and the property used in connection with the functions or activities transferred by this chapter, the personnel employed at present in these functions or activities, the budgetary appropriations and other resources available to be used in connection with said functions or activities.
History —June 20, 1972, No. 23, p. 415, § 6; July 14, 1973, No. 5, p. 830, § 1; Apr. 1, 1980, No. 12, p. 21, § 1, eff. 30 days after Apr. 1, 1980.