The Corporation's primary role is to support government agencies, municipalities, private entities, and communities in fulfilling their respective responsibilities in land management, while facilitating regional collaboration to advance shared goals and objectives to comply with the Clean Water Act.
The Corporation's Board of Directors is made up of people who donate their time voluntarily.
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Section 320 of the federal Clean Water Act established the National Estuary Program (NEP), administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The NEP's mission is to protect and restore the health of nationally important estuaries, which in turn support economic and recreational activities.
In April 1992, the governor of Puerto Rico nominated the San Juan Bay estuary system to the USEPA. Six months later, in October 1992, this valuable ecosystem received the designation of National Protected Area (NPA).
In 2004, the USEPA completed the Estuary Implementation Assessment. As a result, it recommended that the Estuary operate as a non-profit corporation focused entirely on the Estuary's operation. In response, the executive director from 2000 to 2002, Agustín Carbó, and the then and current executive director of the Estuary, Brenda Torres Barreto, established the San Juan Bay Estuary Conservation Corporation as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2005. Subsequently, the USEPA certified the Estuary as a corporation eligible to receive and manage Section 320 Clean Water Act funds designated for the restoration and conservation of the San Juan Bay Estuary.
Currently, only 28 estuaries have received the designation of "Estuary of National Importance" from the United States Congress. Of this select group of NEPs, the San Juan Bay Estuary is the only tropical estuary and the only one outside the continental United States.
Each NEP develops and implements comprehensive management and conservation plans, which outline long-term measures to address challenges and priorities related to water quality and ecosystems. The USEPA provides annual funding, guidance, and technical assistance for NEP monitoring and management.
