By Justin O'Brien
March 19, 2001

Puerto Rico's Mayors participated in force at the Annual Meeting of the Municipal Waste Management Association's (MWMA) in Washington from March 5-7. Fifteen Mayors and their representatives from both of Puerto Rico's Mayors' organizations attended the conference to participate in discussions on current issues relating to and affecting solid waste management. The MWMA emphasizes overcoming the environmental, regulatory and efficiency challenges faced by city governments in the collection and disposal of solid waste. Mayors from Puerto Rico are either members of the Federation of Puerto Rico Mayors or the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico depending upon their affiliation with the island's pro-statehood New Progressive or pro-commonwealth, Popular Democratic parties.

Long-time Conference members, Carolina Mayor Jose Aponte and Guaynabo Mayor Hector O'Neill were amongst the attendees. Aponte was recently elected President of the pro-Commonwealth Association of Mayors. O'Neill is the President of the pro-Statehood Federation of Mayors. The contingent from the island represented a larger group than from any state at the meeting.

The Mayors and officials voiced the burden of waste management issues facing the island's municipal governments and noted the many serious environmental concerns that Puerto Rico's municipal governments must resolve. "The issue of managing our solid waste in an economically efficient and environmentally sensitive way is one of my premier concerns as the chief elected official of my municipality" said Aguas Buenas Mayor Bonny Davila, a first timer at the Municipal Waste Management Association meeting. "It is a serious concern and matter for the Federation of Mayors as it is for most of Puerto Rico's municipal governments. A forum such as the MWMA allows cities such as ours to learn first-hand about the management programs and efforts underway in the rest of the nation's cities." Davila's comments were echoed by other mayors in attendance.

Several Mayors including Davila, Vieques Mayor Damaso Serrano and Florida (PR) Mayor Maggie Guzman also had the opportunity to speak with Senator Jon Corzine (NJ) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee after the closing legislative session during which Senator Corzine described his intentions and thoughts for the 107th Congress. Mayor Serrano emphasized the many environmental concerns of his own island-municipality and constituency. Two-thirds of Vieques' 33,000 acres is used by the Navy for ammunition storage and live-fire bombing exercises. The Conference has policy on Vieques stemming from the 1970 resolution on the neighboring island-municipality of Culebra, Puerto Rico. In October 1999, then Conference President Wellington E. Webb of Denver sent a letter to former President Clinton expressing USCM support for then San Juan Mayor Sila Calderon's position that naval bombing exercises on Vieques be terminated. Puerto Rico's political parties are united in the belief that Vieques receive respite from the exercises and that naval use of the island should cease. Calderon is now Puerto Rico's first woman governor.