Dominican Ministry of Environment demolishes illegal riverfront buildings

The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources demolished two illegal buildings located within the protected zone of the Maimón River in the Juan Adrián municipality, Monseñor Nouel province. The intervention was carried out by the Environmental Enforcement Directorate with support from the National Service for Environmental Protection (SENPA).

Technical inspections revealed that the structures violated the 30-meter protection buffer required by Law 64-00. In one instance, the developer held a Minimum Impact Registration Certificate intended only for land cleaning and leveling, which explicitly required respecting the river's protection zone. Despite this, a two-story structure was erected, with three of its six vertices encroaching on the protected area. Authorities noted that work on this site had previously been ordered to stop in August 2025, yet construction continued despite subsequent notifications and stop-work orders issued in 2026.