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Business & Permits

General environmental permits: the 40 cubic metres, 900 metres and 10 horsepower

Last reviewed: September 4, 2026 — VerifiedOGPe

In short

Chapter 3.6 of the Joint Regulation groups under the name General Permits three permits applied for at OGPe covering individual DRNA environmental permits: the General Permit for Other Works, which includes the CES, DS-3 and PFE; the General Permit for Electricity Generators; and the General Permit for a Used Oil Storage Installation. The thresholds are concrete and worth knowing before moving a machine: the erosion control and sedimentation prevention permit is needed for extractions from the earth’s crust exceeding forty cubic metres and for other works exceeding that volume; the permit to operate an emission source is needed for earth movement in areas of nine hundred square metres or more, for generators over ten horsepower operating no more than five hundred hours a year, and for extractions exceeding seventy-five cubic metres. The General Permit lasts five years, is renewed no less than thirty days in advance, and when applied for separately after the construction permits it is issued the same day it is filed electronically.

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What is it?

It is Chapter 3.6 of Joint Regulation No. 9473. Its provisions apply to any project requiring one or more of the individual permits defined there, carried out independently or as part of building something else. It also adopts as complementary the scientific, technical and substantive provisions of fourteen DRNA regulations in force and its attached components, from water quality standards to the design and operation of composting facilities. Considered General Permits, under the DRNA’s General Permits Processing Regulation, are the General Permit for Other Works — which includes the individual environmental permits CES, DS-3 and PFE — the General Permit for Electricity Generators and the General Permit for a Used Oil Storage Installation.

Who can do it?

It is compulsory to apply to OGPe for a General Permit, under this regulation, for every activity contemplated in the chapter, excluding permits that may be contemplated in other DRNA regulations for the same activities. The works and activities requiring one are defined by thresholds: extractions from the earth’s crust exceeding forty cubic metres, operation of concrete batching plants and other works exceeding that volume, for the erosion control permit; earth movement in areas of nine hundred square metres or more, installation and operation of electricity generators with capacity greater than ten horsepower operating no more than five hundred hours a year and not implying a significant emission or major stationary source, batching plants not involving processing and extractions exceeding seventy-five cubic metres, for the emission source permit; the non-habitual generation of non-hazardous solid waste, for the DS-3; and the operation of a used-oil collection centre.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: The three General Permits

    Three are considered General Permits, under the DRNA’s General Permits Processing Regulation: the General Permit for Other Works, which includes the individual environmental permits CES, DS-3 and PFE; the General Permit for Electricity Generators; and the General Permit for a Used Oil Storage Installation. And it is compulsory to apply to OGPe for a General Permit, under this regulation, for every activity contemplated in the chapter, excluding permits that may be contemplated in other DRNA regulations for the same activities.

  2. Step 2: When it is issued the same day

    There is a time-saving route few people know. The General Permit may also be applied for separately after obtaining OGPe’s corresponding permits for construction or land use, if needed. And in those cases, the regulation says, the permit is issued the same day it is filed electronically. In addition, once a General Permit is applied for and issued, OGPe’s system generates a simultaneous notice to the DRNA, so that body can carry out its investigation and oversight mission and meet its delegated federal commitments.

  3. Step 3: The forty cubic metres

    The Erosion Control and Sedimentation Prevention Permit — the CES — is required for four things: extractions from the earth’s crust, including simple and commercial extractions, exceeding forty cubic metres; operation of concrete batching plants; other works whose volume exceeds forty cubic metres of earth-crust material; and any work or activity the DRNA includes in its Erosion Control and Sedimentation Prevention Regulation. Note the third item: it is not just extraction, it is any work moving that volume.

  4. Step 4: The nine hundred square metres and the ten horsepower

    The Permit to Operate an Emission Source — the PFE — is required in four situations. Earth movement in areas of nine hundred square metres or more. The installation and operation of electricity generators with a generating capacity greater than ten horsepower, an operation of no more than five hundred hours a year, and not implying a significant emission or a major stationary source under the DRNA’s Air Pollution Control Regulation. The operation of concrete batching plants not involving processing. And extractions from the earth’s crust, simple and commercial, exceeding seventy-five cubic metres. On emergency generators there is a rule of its own: those affected by 40 CFR Part 60 may apply for a permit under this regulation provided they are not located within a facility affected by New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), or Part VI of the DRNA’s Air Pollution Control Regulation.

  5. Step 5: Solid waste and used oil

    The other two items are shorter. The Permit for a Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Generating Activity — the DS-3 — is required for the non-habitual generation of non-hazardous solid waste as the DRNA defines it. And the Permit for a Used Oil Storage Installation: operating a used-oil collection centre, under the requirements of the DRNA’s Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Regulation, requires a Solid Waste Generating Activity Permit.

  6. Step 6: The CES Plan and its thirteen sections

    Besides Rule 2.1.9’s requirements, you must upload to OGPe’s system a topographic plan at 1:20,000 identifying the project; identification of accesses or public roads to or from the site; and the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan, certified, signed and sealed by the professional who prepared it, with thirteen sections: an explanatory memorial; evidence of the licences of the professionals certifying it; location and graphic representation of the affected and abutting areas; a plan of current and proposed levels; a drainage plan with the location of existing systems natural or man-made, runoff calculations, perennial or intermittent water bodies and natural systems such as wetlands and sinkholes; a storm plan with the final drainage system’s location and discharge points; the project plan with the control measures to be implemented; a description of the provisional and permanent measures, with design, specifications and maintenance schedule; identification of where earth-crust components will be stored; the implementation and maintenance cost estimate; the document on forestation or stabilisation of impacted areas; and two original signed and sealed certifications with copies of the respective licences.

  7. Step 7: Demolition: asbestos and lead

    Among the documents accompanying the application there are two certifications specific to demolition. A certification stating that the structure to be demolished is free of asbestos material, signed and sealed by the licensed professional who prepared it, with copies of their licences. And a certification stating that the structure to be demolished is free of lead-based paint, signed by a DRNA-certified inspector or risk assessor. Note the difference: the asbestos one is signed and sealed by a licensed professional; the lead one, by a DRNA-certified inspector or assessor.

  8. Step 8: The generator’s three hundred horsepower

    The application for the General Permit for Electricity Generators asks for a clear legible copy of the location plans of the property where the generator will sit — the regulation expressly accepts sources such as Google or mapquest — a location diagram of the generator on the property, a copy of the use permit or Permiso Único issued by OGPe or the government entity concerned, and certification of the information and the owner’s authorisation. And there is a line that triggers three further requirements: if the generator’s motor capacity exceeds three hundred horsepower, you must submit evidence of compliance with Article 4(B) of Ley 416-2004 on environmental public policy, emission calculations sealed and signed by a licensed engineer or chemist, and evidence of the certifying professional’s compliance.

  9. Step 9: Used oil and its spill plan

    Every application for a General Permit for a Used Oil Storage Installation must include five things: a spill emergency plan including the procedure to be followed, the chain of command and the equipment available to deal with the emergency; the DRNA-issued authorised company certification for non-hazardous solid waste collection service; evidence of the Used Oil Generator number; the operation plan; and evidence of payment of the filing charges. The regulation mentions those charges without fixing their amount, and that is why we publish no figure.

  10. Step 10: Five years, amendments, transfer and renewal

    Every document accompanying the application forms an integral part of the permit, so the application’s information must match the documents’; where there is a discrepancy, the application must be amended. The General Permit is valid for five years. It may be amended at any time by filing the amendment through the SUI, meeting the same requirements as the original application, including any change to plans, documents and certifications. On a change of an entity’s name or of a property’s owner, OGPe transfers the permit immediately to the new owner or entity, provided a statement from the previous owner accepting the transfer or a document evidencing title is filed; the new owner is subject to the same limitations, conditions and requirements, and is responsible for any violation from the moment the permit was transferred to their name. Renewal is filed through the SUI and must be presented no less than thirty days before the expiry date; it is understood to apply to all the individual General Permits covered, unless stated otherwise. One drafting detail we reproduce as it stands: that section speaks of "renewing the Permiso Único incidental Operacional", naming a different permit from the chapter’s subject. And everyone issued a General Permit is immediately subject to all its conditions and to all the applicable substantive requirements of the DRNA’s regulations in force.

  11. Step 11: The inspector’s reports: the fifth day and the photographs

    The designated inspector must submit periodic reports to OGPe on the CES Plan’s implementation and the progress of its activities, and that inspector must be an engineer or architect authorised to practise in Puerto Rico. The reports are prepared and certified by them, under the DRNA’s Plan and Document Certification Regulation, and submitted electronically in the case file before OGPe. The first report must be submitted no later than the fifth working day from the date works begin, and subsequent ones monthly from that date. All must include colour photographs at least four inches by six inches evidencing the provisional and permanent erosion control measures implemented. And once the authorised activities end, a final report must be submitted evidencing their completion and the implementation of the applicable permanent erosion control measures. The regulation adds that reports may be required at different intervals where deemed necessary.

Where to do it

Before OGPe, through the electronic filing system (SUI), for the application as well as amendments and renewal. Once the General Permit is issued, OGPe’s system generates a simultaneous notice to the DRNA. The CES Plan implementation reports are submitted electronically in the case file before OGPe. The scientific, technical and substantive provisions live in the DRNA regulations this chapter adopts as complementary, and the process itself is also governed by the DRNA’s General Permits Processing Regulation, which we did not read for this guide.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

Before moving a machine, measure. The thresholds decide whether you need a permit: forty cubic metres of earth-crust material for the erosion control permit — and it applies to "other works" moving that volume too, not just to extractions; nine hundred square metres of earth movement or seventy-five cubic metres of extraction for the emission source permit; and more than ten horsepower with an operation of no more than five hundred hours a year for a generator. If your generator exceeds three hundred horsepower, prepare for three additional requirements, including emission calculations sealed by a licensed engineer or chemist. If you are demolishing, you need both certifications: the absence of asbestos, signed and sealed by a licensed professional, and the absence of lead-based paint, signed by a DRNA-certified inspector or risk assessor. If you already hold OGPe’s construction permits, consider applying for the General Permit separately: in that case it is issued the same day it is filed electronically. Keep the file consistent, because every document forms an integral part of the permit and any discrepancy forces an amendment to the application. Note the calendar: five years’ validity, renewal no less than thirty days in advance, the first CES Plan report no later than the fifth working day from the start of works, monthly reports afterwards, with colour photographs at least four by six inches, and a final report at the end. And remember the designated inspector must be an engineer or architect authorised to practise in Puerto Rico. Four caveats. First: we publish no cost, because the chapter mentions filing charges for the used-oil permit and internal revenue and CIAPR stamps where a batching plant’s cost reaches three thousand dollars or more, but fixes no amount. Second: we publish no general processing time; the only issuance term the chapter fixes is same-day for a General Permit filed separately. Third: we did not read the DRNA’s General Permits Processing Regulation or the fourteen DRNA regulations this chapter adopts as complementary; we name them, we do not summarise them. And the file the Board links is named "Reglamento Conjunto de Emergencia", but the document inside is Joint Regulation No. 9473 of 16 June 2023.

Common mistakes

  • Believing the erosion permit only applies to extractions, when it also reaches other works exceeding forty cubic metres.
  • Confusing the thresholds: forty cubic metres for the CES, seventy-five for the emission source permit.
  • Moving earth over an area of nine hundred square metres or more without the permit to operate an emission source.
  • Installing a generator over three hundred horsepower without emission calculations sealed by a licensed engineer or chemist.
  • Demolishing without the asbestos-free certification or the lead-paint-free certification.
  • Naming as CES Plan inspector someone who is not an engineer or architect authorised to practise in Puerto Rico.
  • Missing the fifth working day for the first CES Plan implementation report.
  • Submitting reports without the colour photographs at least four by six inches.
  • Leaving renewal to the last days: it must be filed no less than thirty days in advance.

Frequently asked questions

When do I need the erosion control permit?

For extractions from the earth’s crust — simple and commercial — exceeding forty cubic metres, for the operation of concrete batching plants, for other works whose volume exceeds forty cubic metres of earth-crust material, and for any work or activity the DRNA includes in its Erosion Control and Sedimentation Prevention Regulation.

Does my generator need a permit?

The permit to operate an emission source is required for the installation and operation of electricity generators with a generating capacity greater than ten horsepower, an operation of no more than five hundred hours a year, and not implying a significant emission or a major stationary source under the DRNA’s Air Pollution Control Regulation.

How long does the General Permit take?

The chapter fixes a single issuance term: where the General Permit is applied for separately after obtaining OGPe’s permits for construction or land use, the permit is issued the same day it is filed electronically.

How long does it last and how is it renewed?

The General Permit is valid for five years. It may be renewed before its expiry date by filing through the SUI no less than thirty days before that date, and the renewal is understood to apply to all the individual General Permits covered, unless stated otherwise.

What reports must be filed during the works?

The designated inspector — an engineer or architect authorised to practise in Puerto Rico — files reports on the CES Plan’s implementation: the first no later than the fifth working day from the start of works, subsequent ones monthly, all with colour photographs at least four by six inches, and a final report when the authorised activities end.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 4, 2026

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