Res. 06317-2008 Sala Constitucional — State's failure to remedy Quebrada Ocloro contamination violates right to healthy environment

OutcomeResultado

GrantedCon lugar

The amparo is granted. The Constitutional Chamber found that the four respondent institutions—the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, the Ministry of Health, AyA, and MINAE—violated the right to a healthy environment through omission and delay in addressing the pollution of the Quebrada Ocloro, caused by an informal settlement lacking sanitary sewer infrastructure.Se declara con lugar el recurso de amparo. La Sala Constitucional determinó que las cuatro instituciones recurridas (Municipalidades de Curridabat y Montes de Oca, Ministerio de Salud, AyA y MINAE) violaron el derecho a un ambiente sano por omisión y lentitud al no resolver la contaminación de la Quebrada Ocloro, derivada de un asentamiento informal que carecía de alcantarillado sanitario.

SummaryResumen

The Constitutional Chamber heard an amparo action filed by residents of Calle Siles, Curridabat, due to severe pollution of the Quebrada Ocloro. The petitioners alleged that an informal settlement of approximately 50 people, mostly undocumented Nicaraguan migrants, was discharging untreated wastewater and solid waste directly into the stream, causing infectious diseases and foul odors, with no effective action taken by the authorities in over two years. The Chamber reviewed the applicable environmental and health legislation, including Article 50 of the Constitution, the Organic Environmental Law, the General Health Law, and the Wildlife Law. Based on documentary evidence and sworn reports, it granted the amparo and found the four respondent institutions jointly responsible for omission and delay: the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, the Ministry of Health, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, and the Ministry of Environment and Energy. The court concluded that all had breached the constitutional mandate to guarantee a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, by failing to implement the measures provided by law to remedy a situation endangering human health and ecological balance.La Sala Constitucional conoció un recurso de amparo interpuesto por vecinos de Calle Siles, Curridabat, por la grave contaminación de la Quebrada Ocloro. Los recurrentes alegaron que un asentamiento informal habitado por unas 50 personas, en su mayoría migrantes nicaragüenses, vertía aguas residuales y desechos sólidos directamente al cauce, provocando enfermedades infecciosas y malos olores, sin que las autoridades hubieran actuado eficazmente en más de dos años. La Sala analizó la normativa ambiental y sanitaria aplicable, incluyendo el artículo 50 constitucional, la Ley Orgánica del Ambiente, la Ley General de Salud y la Ley de Vida Silvestre. Con base en la prueba documental y los informes rendidos bajo juramento, declaró con lugar el recurso y encontró responsabilidad por omisión y lentitud en las cuatro instituciones recurridas: las Municipalidades de Curridabat y Montes de Oca, el Ministerio de Salud, el Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados y el Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. La Sala concluyó que todas habían incumplido el mandato constitucional de garantizar un ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado, al no ejecutar las medidas que el ordenamiento jurídico les confiere para remediar una situación que pone en peligro la salud humana y el equilibrio ecológico.

Key excerptExtracto clave

In light of the considerations based on the evidence in the record, the Chamber finds that none of the respondent institutions is exempt from liability for the constitutional violations found, to the detriment of a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, since, through omission or delay in acting, all have failed to comply with an express constitutional mandate. [...] The liability referred to arises primarily from the mere fact of tolerating and not timely executing the measures that the legal system provides to remedy a situation that endangers human health and the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment recognized by Article 50 of our Political Constitution.A la luz de las consideraciones efectuadas con fundamento en la prueba allegada a los autos, estima la Sala que ninguna de las instituciones recurridas queda exenta de responsabilidad en las violaciones constitucionales verificadas en detrimento a un medio ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado pues, por omisión, o lentitud de acción, todas han incumplido un expreso mandato constitucional. [...] La responsabilidad a la que se ha hecho alusión surge, primordialmente, del mero hecho de tolerar y no ejecutar en tiempo eficaz las medidas que el Ordenamiento Jurídico provee para remediar una situación en la que se pone en peligro la salud humana y el derecho a gozar de un medio sano y ecológicamente equilibrado que reconoce el artículo 50 de nuestra Constitución Política.

Pull quotesCitas destacadas

"La inercia del Estado en el cumplimiento de sus funciones en tutela del ambiente y la salud humana, como la que aquí se acusa, involucra no solo a entes como la Municipalidad recurrida, como tanto al Área Rectora de Salud y al propio Ministerio de Salud, como a su vez al propio Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía."

"The State's inertia in fulfilling its duties to protect the environment and human health, as alleged here, involves not only entities like the respondent Municipality but also the Health Area, the Ministry of Health itself, and the Ministry of Environment and Energy."

Considerando III

"La inercia del Estado en el cumplimiento de sus funciones en tutela del ambiente y la salud humana, como la que aquí se acusa, involucra no solo a entes como la Municipalidad recurrida, como tanto al Área Rectora de Salud y al propio Ministerio de Salud, como a su vez al propio Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía."

Considerando III

"La responsabilidad a la que se ha hecho alusión surge, primordialmente, del mero hecho de tolerar y no ejecutar en tiempo eficaz las medidas que el Ordenamiento Jurídico provee para remediar una situación en la que se pone en peligro la salud humana y el derecho a gozar de un medio sano y ecológicamente equilibrado."

"The liability referred to arises primarily from the mere fact of tolerating and not timely executing the measures that the legal system provides to remedy a situation that endangers human health and the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment."

Considerando VI

"La responsabilidad a la que se ha hecho alusión surge, primordialmente, del mero hecho de tolerar y no ejecutar en tiempo eficaz las medidas que el Ordenamiento Jurídico provee para remediar una situación en la que se pone en peligro la salud humana y el derecho a gozar de un medio sano y ecológicamente equilibrado."

Considerando VI

Full documentDocumento completo

**I. Purpose of the appeal.** The petitioners allege that in the vicinity of the Plaza del Sol Shopping Center (specifically, behind it), after the railway bridge, there is a slum settlement inhabited by around 50 people, the majority of whom are undocumented Nicaraguan nationals, where serious sanitary problems are experienced and its dwellers live in overcrowded conditions since sanitary services are scarce, and they add that their owners, lacking toilet paper, use newspapers, thereby constantly causing overflows that spill fecal matter into the Ocloro River. Thus, for years the neighbors of that community have had to endure nauseating odors and the emergence of diseases such as hepatitis, which causes a serious problem for citizen security; however, despite having sought a solution to the problem for two years, the plaintiffs have not achieved anything concrete, as by official letter ARSC-UPAH-810-2005 of October 25, 2005, the Curridabat Governing Area of the Ministry of Health merely stated that it would duly report on the follow-up of the case, without undertaking further actions. In their judgment, this situation is an arbitrary administrative act that infringes constitutional rights.

**III. Wastewater treatment and environmental protection.** Article 50 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica enshrines the right of every person to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, as well as the correlative duty of the State to guarantee, defend, and preserve that right. To fulfill this task, it is incumbent upon the State—in a broad sense—among other things, to provide the necessary measures so that timely and effective treatment is given to blackwater and wastewater in the country, an activity indispensable for the prevention of environmental and water pollution, apart from establishing the appropriate oversight mechanisms to ensure those measures are complied with. The absence of treatment for blackwater and wastewater means that they are generally discharged into surface waters, thereby creating an obvious danger to human health, as it is a problem directly related to the presence of infectious diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and many others, which have claimed many lives worldwide. Likewise, discharge into surface waters entails a danger to animals and, in general, to the ecology. The public interest involved in this matter is evident and has even been recognized in a publication of December 7 last, published in La Gaceta number 239, Decree number 32133-S of November 19, 2004, through which the Executive Branch provided in Article 1 the following:

“The design, financing, execution, operation, and maintenance of the works required for the collection, treatment, and final disposal of ordinary-type wastewater generated in urban centers, where individual solutions for wastewater disposal are technically and environmentally unsuitable, are declared to be of public interest and social necessity.” The inertia of the State in fulfilling its functions in protection of the environment and human health, as alleged here, involves not only entities such as the respondent Municipality, but also the Governing Area of Health and the Ministry of Health itself, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Energy itself, representatives who under oath expressed what concrete measures they have taken within the framework of their competencies to fulfill the constitutional mandate.

**IV. Regulatory framework.** As occurs in other areas of Administrative Law, the regulations aimed at environmental protection, and particularly those related to the matter at hand, are dispersed, which entails a difficulty in individualizing responsibilities in cases of non-compliance by the Administration; however, it is clear that this is an obligation of the State emanating from the Political Constitution and developed in law. Thus, Article 28 of the Organic Environmental Law establishes the following:

“Territorial planning policies It is the function of the State, the municipalities, and other public entities to define and execute national territorial planning policies, aimed at regulating and promoting human settlements and the economic and social activities of the population, as well as physical-spatial development, in order to achieve harmony between the greater well-being of the population, the use of natural resources, and the conservation of the environment.” Likewise, in its Article 50, this regulatory body refers to water as a public domain asset, whose conservation and sustainable use are of social interest. In parallel, the following provision sets forth the criteria that must be applied for the conservation and sustainable use of water, among which are the following:

“a) Protect, conserve, and to the extent possible, recover aquatic ecosystems and the elements that intervene in the hydrological cycle.

b)Protect the ecosystems that allow the regulation of the hydrological regime.
c)Maintain the balance of the water system, protecting each of the components of the hydrographic basins.” In the same way, Article 52 ibid establishes that these criteria must also be applied in the preparation and execution of any water resource planning, in the granting of concessions and permits to use any component of the hydrological regime, as well as:

“d) In the operation and administration of potable water systems, and the collection, evacuation, and final disposal of wastewater or waste, serving industrial population centers.” -The highlighting is not from the original- The same Law, in its Article 65, orders that wastewater of any origin must receive treatment before being discharged into rivers, lakes, seas, and other bodies of water; at the same time, it must achieve the quality established for the receiving body, according to its current and potential use and for its future use in other activities. For its part, the General Health Law number 5395 addresses the issue by prohibiting any action, practice, or operation that deteriorates the natural environment or that, by altering the composition or intrinsic characteristics of its basic elements, especially air, water, and soil, produces a decrease in their quality and aesthetics, renders such assets unusable for some of the uses for which they are intended, or creates a risk to human health or to fauna or flora harmless to humans. To this effect, Article 294 defines atmospheric pollution for legal and regulatory purposes as:

“...the deterioration of its purity by the presence of polluting agents, such as solid particles, dust, smoke, vapor, gases, radioactive materials, and others that the Ministry defines as such, in concentrations higher than those permitted by the air purity standards internationally accepted and officially declared by the Ministry.

The presence of emanation or bad odors that affect the quality of the environment, harming the well-being of people, is also considered air pollution for the same purposes.

The emission of sounds that exceed the standards internationally accepted and officially declared by the Ministry shall also be considered atmospheric pollution.” Furthermore, the aforementioned regulatory body establishes as an obligation of every person the fulfillment of the actions, practices, or works established in the law and regulations aimed at eliminating or controlling the elements and factors of the natural, physical, or biological environment and the artificial environment that are harmful to human health (Article 263). Similarly, Book 1, Title III of that Law sets forth the duties of persons for the conservation and conditioning of the environment and the restrictions to which they are subject in their activities for the benefit of its preservation. Specifically, in Chapter III “On the obligations and restrictions for the sanitary evacuation of excreta and service and blackwater,” the following is established:

“Article 285.- Excreta, blackwater, service water, and stormwater must be eliminated adequately and sanitarily to avoid contamination of the soil and natural water sources for human use and consumption, the formation of breeding grounds for vectors and diseases, and air pollution through conditions that threaten its purity or quality.

Article 286.- Every natural or legal person is obligated to carry out the drainage works that the health authority orders to prevent the formation of unsanitary and infectious foci, or to remedy those existing on their property.

If the owner is reluctant to comply with such orders, the health authority may carry them out at the cost of the defaulter.

In cases where the public interest, the nature, and the scope of the drainage works justify it, every property owner is obligated to constitute an easement in favor of the State so that the health authority may construct such works, and the expropriation of the land may be decreed when the easement is incompatible with its use.

The maintenance and operation, if applicable, shall be the responsibility of the beneficiaries of such works.

Article 287.- Every natural or legal person who owns dwellings or establishments or buildings in which persons carry out their activities shall be responsible for ensuring that such properties have a system for the disposal of excreta and blackwater and service water approved by the Ministry, and the users of dwellings, establishments, or buildings shall be obligated to maintain said system in good working order.

Article 288.- Every owner is obligated to connect the excreta, blackwater, and service water elimination system of their property to the sanitary sewer system in places where it is in operation, except in cases of exception that the pertinent regulations recognize as appropriate.-The highlighting and underlining are not from the original- Article 289.- Every sewer system shall be under the technical control of the Ministry and the National Service of Aqueducts and Sewers, and the private or public law persons who construct, administer, and operate them shall be subject to the rules that the Executive Branch, in consultation with the National Service of Aqueducts and Sewers, issues to condition their construction, operation, and the final evacuation and treatment of effluents.” -The bold highlighting is not from the original- Article 290.- Every person is prohibited from destroying or damaging public or private drainage systems or obstructing their operation.

Article 291.- It is prohibited to discharge industrial waste and waste from health establishments into the sanitary sewer system without prior authorization from the health authority and without complying with the instructions that it may order to render them harmless, in order to prevent any damage to the drainage system, or to avoid contamination of water sources or courses, soil, and air, or any other risk to human health deriving from the inadequate final disposal of drainage.

Article 292.- It is prohibited, in all cases, to discharge blackwater, service water, and industrial waste into the storm sewer system. The Ministry is empowered to restrict, regulate, or prohibit the elimination of non-biodegradable synthetic products through the excreta, blackwater, and service water collection systems. -The bold highlighting is not from the original- Article 337.- The application and control of compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations shall be the exclusive responsibility of the health authorities, without prejudice to the powers and obligations that special laws grant and impose on other public bodies within their respective fields of action. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) Article 338.- For all purposes of the application of this law and other laws pertinent to health or sanitary matters and their regulations, the following shall be considered health authorities: the Ministry of Public Health and its subordinate officials in positions of General Directorate, Directorate, or Headship of Medical or Technical Health Divisions or Departments or of a geographic health area, as well as those who by special laws have such status and attributions.

Article 339.- The aforementioned authorities may delegate to their subordinate officials, for the better service and application of the provisions of this law and its regulations, specific attributions pertaining to their position.

Article 340.- The health authorities, within the attributions conferred upon them by this law and its regulations and in accordance with the competence and jurisdiction assigned to them by the organic regulation of the Ministry, may issue resolutions ordering measures of a general or particular nature, as appropriate, for better application and compliance. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) Article 341.- They may also, within the mentioned attributions and jurisdictions, order and take the special measures authorized by this law to prevent risk or harm to the health of persons or to prevent them from spreading or worsening, and to inhibit the continuation or recidivism in the infringement by individuals.

Article 342.- It shall also correspond to the Minister to issue the technical health standards to which natural or legal persons under private or public law must adhere in the matters required by this law. -The highlighting is not from the original- Article 344.- Public or semi-public bodies of decentralized or deconcentrated administration at any level that administer services of public interest, such as the supply of drinking water, sewerage, and solid waste collection, or others that by the nature of their functions may affect or seriously harm the health of the population, due to technical inefficiency or insufficiency of their services, are also subject to the standards and to the control and supervision referred to in the previous article. -The bold highlighting is not from the original- Article 346.- For purposes of carrying out effective control of compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations, and complementary resolutions that the health authorities issue within their competencies, officials subordinate to the Ministry, duly identified, may conduct inspections or visits to carry out sanitary operations, collect samples, or gather background information or evidence in buildings, dwellings, industrial and commercial establishments, and in any place where infractions against the aforementioned laws, regulations, and resolutions could be perpetrated.

Article 347.- In the event that natural or legal persons prevent entry or access to the places or properties or interfere with the actions of the officials or refuse to provide samples and background information, the health authority may request a search warrant from the judicial authority, which must be issued within twenty-four calendar hours of being requested.

The Ministry officials entrusted with such diligence shall execute the search warrant, being subject to the pertinent legal provisions and the administrative and technical procedural regulations of the Ministry.

The search warrant shall have the sole purpose of carrying out the specific diligence for which it was requested by the health authority, and the officials who execute it shall be liable for any unnecessary harm caused by their actions or by exceeding their functions.

Article 348.- The health authorities may request the assistance of the public force and other administrative authorities to carry out the actions inherent to their duties for which they have been especially commissioned. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) Article 349.- Ministry officials holding inspection positions who have been especially commissioned to verify infractions of this law or its regulations shall have the status of health authority and shall have public faith regarding complaints filed against natural or legal persons for acts or omissions involving an infraction of such provisions or that constitute a crime. The Agricultural Quarantine Inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock shall have this same status.

Article 355.- With a view to the effective protection of the health of the population and individuals, the competent health authorities may decree measures whose purpose is to prevent the appearance of dangers and, by their own authority, the aggravation or spread of harm, or the continuation or recidivism in the perpetration of legal or regulatory infractions that threaten the health of persons. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) Article 356.- The retention, removal from commerce or circulation, confiscation, denaturation, and destruction of material goods, the demolition and eviction of dwellings and other buildings intended for other uses, the closure of establishments; the cancellation of permits; the order of stoppage, destruction, or execution of works, as appropriate; the isolation, observation, and internment of persons affected or suspected of being affected by communicable diseases subject to mandatory reporting; and the isolation or sacrifice of animals affected or suspected of being affected by epizootic diseases subject to mandatory reporting are declared special measures for the purposes set forth in the previous article.

Article 357.- The measures referred to in the previous article may be ordered directly by the health authorities or may ensue as accessories to the sanctions applied for the infraction, without prejudice to the civil or criminal liabilities of those responsible.

Article 378.- The defaulter in complying with the orders or special or general measures issued by the health authorities shall be subject to a penalty of five to thirty days' fine, if the act does not constitute a crime. (The bold highlighting is not from the original).

For its part, the Wildlife Conservation Law, number 7317 of December 7, 1992, in its Article 132 states:

“It is prohibited to discharge service water, blackwater, waste, or any polluting substance into springs, rivers, streams, permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes, and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, peat bogs, swamps, fresh, brackish, or salt waters.

Agro-industrial and industrial installations and other installations must be provided with treatment systems to prevent solid waste or contaminated water of any type from destroying wildlife. The certification of water quality shall be issued by the Ministry of Health.

Those who fail to comply with the provisions of this article shall be fined amounts ranging from fifty thousand colones (¢50,000) to one hundred thousand colones (¢100,000), convertible into a prison sentence of one to two years.” -The bold highlighting is not from the original- With the purpose of directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, carrying out and promoting planning, financing, and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of drinking water and the collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste, as well as the normative aspect of storm sewer systems in urban areas, for the entire national territory, the Constitutive Law of the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers declared that entity as an autonomous institution of the State (Article 1), which is responsible, among other things, for:

“a) Directing and supervising everything concerning the provision to the inhabitants of the republic of a service of drinking water, collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste, and stormwater in urban areas; b) Determining the priority, advisability, and viability of the different projects proposed to construct, reform, expand, or modify aqueduct and sewer works; which may not be executed without its approval; c) Promoting the conservation of hydrographic basins and ecological protection, as well as the control of water pollution; d) Advising other State bodies and coordinating public and private activities in all matters related to the establishment of aqueducts and sewers and the control of water resource pollution, its consultation being mandatory in all cases and compliance with its recommendations being inexcusable; e) Preparing all the plans for public works related to the purposes of this law, as well as approving all plans for private works related to aqueduct and sewer systems, as determined by the respective regulations; f) Taking advantage of, using, governing, or supervising, as the case may be, all public domain waters indispensable for the due fulfillment of the provisions of this law, in exercise of the rights that the State has over them, pursuant to Law number 276 of August 27, 1942, for which purpose the Institute shall be considered the substitute body for the powers attributed in that law to the State, ministries, and municipalities; g) Administering and operating directly the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, which shall be gradually taken over, taking into account advisability and availability of resources. The systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may remain under their charge, as long as they provide efficient service.

Under no circumstances may it delegate the administration of the aqueduct and sanitary sewer systems of the Metropolitan Area.

Nor may it delegate the administration of systems for which there is financial responsibility and while this responsibility corresponds directly to the Institute.

The institution is empowered to agree with local bodies on the administration of such services or to administer them through administrative boards of mixed composition between the Institute and the respective communities, provided this is suitable for the better provision of services and in accordance with the respective regulations.

For the same reasons and with the same characteristics, regional administrative boards involving several municipalities may also be created; h) Enforcing the General Drinking Water Law, for which purpose the Institute shall be considered the substitute body for the ministries and municipalities indicated in that law; i) Constructing, expanding, and reforming aqueduct and sewer systems in those cases where it is necessary and the better satisfaction of national needs so advises; and j) Controlling the adequate investment of all resources that the State allocates for aqueduct and sanitary sewer works.” -The bold highlighting is not from the original- In the regulatory sphere, there is the “Regulation on the Discharge and Reuse of Wastewater, number 26042-S-MINAE,” which in its Article 1 establishes:

“Objectives and scope The purpose of this Regulation is the protection of public health and the environment, through an environmentally adequate management of wastewater. It shall be applicable throughout the national territory for the handling of wastewater that, regardless of its origin, is discharged or reused.” In its Article 3, it provides that every generating entity shall be subject to the application of the provisions established in the General Health Law and in Article 132 of the Wildlife Conservation Law. Likewise, it states that:

“The buildings, establishments, and installations under their charge must be provided with the necessary treatment systems so that their wastewater complies with the provisions of this Regulation, and thus prevent damages to wildlife, health, or human well-being.” The regulatory standard establishes the physicochemical and bacteriological parameters that must be analyzed in wastewater discharged into a receiving body or sanitary sewer, both for project processing purposes and for the preparation of operational reports, and in its Article 32 authorizes the reuse of wastewater when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Energy that this will not deteriorate the quality of surface and groundwater. For the surveillance of wastewater that is reused, the minimum frequencies required for taking samples and performing the respective laboratory analyses are expressly set by the Regulation, as seen in its Article 35:

“For the surveillance of wastewater that is reused, the minimum frequencies required for taking samples and performing the respective laboratory analyses shall be those indicated in Table 8 of the Appendix, which is an integral part of this Regulation. The Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health may require frequencies different from those in Table 8, in those cases where the protection of public health or the environment so require. Operational reports must be submitted to the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health on a quarterly basis. Those generating entities that reuse wastewater in discontinuous periods must submit three equidistant reports over the time that each reuse cycle lasts.” -The highlighting is not from the original- Article 39 ibid prohibits the discharge of sludge from wastewater treatment systems and septic tanks into bodies of water. For these purposes, the provisions issued by the Ministry of Health in this regard shall apply.

Regarding operational reports, Article 43 stipulates the following:

“Generating entities that submit an operational report in which one or more parameters exceed the maximum permissible limits established by this Regulation shall have two courses of action:

a)If the values obtained in the analysis in question are caused by ordinary variations in the treatment system, they may request an accredited laboratory to repeat the analysis of said parameters, on three different days distributed over a period not exceeding fifteen calendar days from the date of the analysis in question. They must then submit these results as an addendum to the original operational report.
b)If the variation is not of an ordinary type, because the generating entity so considers or the results of paragraph (a) so prove, then the generating entity shall have a period of one month from notification to submit a schedule of corrective actions, aimed at obtaining the quality of residual waters established by this Regulation.

Said schedule shall be reviewed by the División de Saneamiento Ambiental of the Ministerio de Salud, which shall issue its opinion on the matter within a period not exceeding one month from its receipt. That Division shall make available to the public an explanatory guide on the requirements the schedule must meet in order to be received.

During the period defined by the approved schedule, the generating entity must continue submitting operational reports normally, according to the frequencies established by this Regulation, attaching an update on the corrections made.

In the event of non-compliance with said schedule and persistent non-compliance with the provisions of this Regulation, the División de Saneamiento Ambiental of the Ministerio de Salud shall forward the respective water quality certification to the Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía, in order to apply to the generating entity the sanctions stipulated in Article 132 of the Ley de Conservación de la Vida Silvestre. It may also cancel the Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento and execute the closure of the building or establishment generating the discharge of residual waters, according to the provisions of the Ley General de Salud.” - The bold highlighting is not from the original- Several conclusions are easily drawn from the cited regulations, namely: 1) All inhabitants of the country are entitled to the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment; 2) It is the responsibility of the State—including the municipalities as entities charged with safeguarding local interests—to guarantee, defend, and preserve that right; 3) It is in the public interest to design, finance, execute, operate, and maintain the works required for the collection, treatment, and final disposal of ordinary residual waters generated in urban centers, where individual solutions for the disposal of residual waters are not technically and environmentally adequate; 4) It is prohibited to dump graywater, blackwater, waste, or any polluting substance in springs, rivers, streams, permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes, and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, pipes, swamps, fresh, brackish, or salt waters, and non-compliance with this provision is sanctioned with a fine; 5) By law, the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados was created as a public entity charged with directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, carrying out and promoting planning, financing, and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of potable water and the collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste, as well as the normative aspect of storm sewer systems in urban areas, for the entire national territory. This entity is responsible, among other things, for directing and supervising everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the republic with a service of potable water, collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste, and stormwater in urban areas. It must advise other State bodies and coordinate public and private activities in all matters relating to the establishment of aqueducts and sewers and the control of water resource pollution, its consultation being mandatory in all cases, and compliance with its recommendations inexcusable; 6) By legal imperative, it falls to the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados to directly administer and operate the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the entire country, although the systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may continue to be under their charge, but the Constitutive Law of that entity is very clear in establishing that this is so “as long as they provide an efficient service.”; 7) To guarantee compliance with regulations protecting the environment and human health, the Ley General de Salud grants enforcement powers (potestades de imperio) to health authorities with a view to enforcing, even through public force, the provisions and orders they issue in the exercise of their powers.

V.- Specific Case. Based on the previously cited norms and the conclusions drawn from them, this Chamber finds that in the specific case, the infringements of fundamental rights alleged by the petitioners have indeed occurred. Indeed, from the evidence attached to the record and the reports rendered by the Mayors of the Municipalidades of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, as well as by the Ministra de Salud, the Director and the Head of the Sección de Protección del Ambiente Humano, both from the Área Rectora de Salud of Curridabat, it is established that in the specific site subject to this recourse—Calle Siles, behind Plaza del Sol—there is no sewer network for the dwellings subject to the petitioner's complaint before the Área Rectora de Salud of Curridabat, meaning that various types of waste from the inhabitants of the reported dwellings are being discharged into the Quebrada Ocloro, because according to the respondents themselves, said domiciles were built many years ago without the corresponding permits and without taking the pertinent health and hygiene measures. For their part, as the respondents themselves reported, as could be corroborated from on-site visits to the source of the problem, apparently the residual waters from said dwellings are being evacuated directly into the river, along with water showing clear traces of soap. Regarding the responsibility of the respondent authorities in the constitutional infringements that are verified, a breakdown is provided for greater ease of exposition.

V.1) Municipalidad de Curridabat and the Municipalidad de Montes de Oca. Article 169 of the Constitución Política stipulates that the administration of local interests and services in each canton shall be in charge of the Municipal Government. On other occasions, the Chamber has already stated that this norm does not define or provide further elements of judgment to definitively extract what must be understood by “local interests and services,” as it is an indeterminate legal concept like others found in the Constitution, such as “public order” or “good customs”; however, the Chamber has said that “...the power attributed to local governments to plan urban development within the limits of their territory does integrate the constitutional concept of "local interests and services" referred to in Article 169 of the Constitution, a competence that was recognized by the Ley de Planificación Urbana” (Ruling number 6706-93). That same ruling also stated, in what is relevant:

“Urban planning, that is, the elaboration and implementation of regulatory plans, is a function inherent to the municipalities to the exclusion of any other public entity, except as stated regarding the general directive powers attributed to the Ministry of Planning and the Dirección de Urbanismo.” Consequently, it is the responsibility of the municipalities to authorize housing developments in their territory, which in each case must be consistent with the development and improvement plans for the aqueduct and sewer systems in the canton, without which no development will be possible, for technical reasons (non-existence of pipe networks, tanks, flows, etc.) that allow water supply to any new development. As the entity responsible for safeguarding local interests, it is its duty to verify that urbanizations comply with the provisions of the current urban planning regulations. Thus, municipal corporations cannot detach themselves from the national urban planning problem, due to the constitutional responsibility each one has to ensure harmonious development and services, which is an integral part of the concept “local interests and services.” In the case at hand, the Municipalidad de Curridabat, as demonstrated in the record, is the entity that should exercise greater control over the lack of a sanitary sewer system for the reported dwellings, which causes the residual waters from the dwellings to be deposited freely and without control into the bed of the Quebrada Ocloro. In this regard, the representative of the respondent Municipalidad argues that what happens is that said houses in its jurisdiction are not inhabited by their owners, but are a kind of tenement housing that have been rented to mostly foreign individuals, who live in overcrowded conditions, since upon approaching the domiciles, odors of fecal matter are noticed. Nevertheless, they have no evidence that there are overflows in the stream due to newsprint waste, because on the same day this report is rendered, the officials from the Legal Advisory Office and the Dirección de Planeamiento Territorial of the Municipalidad they represent visited the site, but no problem of that kind was visible; however, they indicate that the residual waters from said dwellings are being evacuated directly into the river, for which they attribute responsibility to the Ministerio de Salud, and regarding the protection zone where the dwellings are being built, this is eventually the responsibility—in their opinion—of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía and the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, which is responsible for enclosing in a conduit the portion of the bed of the Quebrada Ocloro located in the Cantón de Curridabat. Now, in the case of the Municipalidad de Montes de Oca, although its Mayor claims they lack territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, under oath, the Mayor of Curridabat affirms that part of the sector falls under his jurisdiction, but not in its entirety, and that even the garbage collection service in the area is carried out by the Municipalidad de Montes de Oca; in turn, the Minister of Ambiente y Energía himself affirms that the Quebrada Ocloro is the intercantonal boundary and both banks and the bed are invaded by buildings. In any case, the dispute over territorial jurisdictions between both Municipalidades is a matter they must resolve between themselves, as it is not for this Chamber to analyze their territorial jurisdiction, for a stream that suffers from pollution and which, as recorded on the cartographic map provided as evidence by the Mayor of Montes de Oca himself, also crosses the canton that said official represents. Now, the Municipalidad de Curridabat, through its Mayor, also does not deny the absence of treatment of the blackwater and residual waters coming from the reported dwellings referred to by the petitioners.

V.2) Ministerio de Salud. It is inferred from the evidence attached to the record that the local authorities have known of the problem at hand for years and have carried out some interventions aimed at its solution, given that as recorded in the attached evidence and from the report itself rendered under oath—with the even criminal consequences derived therefrom, as inferred from Article 44 of the Law governing this Constitutional Jurisdiction—on December 10, 2004, official communication ARSMO 1864-04 was received at the Área Rectora de Salud of Curridabat, by which a complaint filed by Mrs. Aida Corrales was forwarded, regarding pollution problems in the Quebrada Ocloro, in the sector of Calle Siles, boundary between the cantons of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, which, as denoted from the evidence itself provided, continued with a whole process during the years 2004 up to the present, as it is inferred that on May 19, 2005, officials from the respondent Área Rectora de Salud conducted a site visit and generated report ARSC-UPAH-276-2005, describing the situation found, as the river presents pollution practically from its source given that the Urbanización Freses was installed on it, meaning the problem had to be dealt with through inter-institutional treatment, with the same day official communication ARSC-UPAH-277-2005 being issued by the Unidad de Protección al Ambiente Humano of the Central South Region addressed to the complainant Aída Corrales, attaching the aforementioned report. Subsequently, on June 24, 2005, they addressed official communication ARSC-UPAH-379-2005 to the Mayoress of the Municipalidad de Curridabat, requesting municipal intervention to verify the legal conditions of the constructions located on the riverbanks, as that municipal corporation is responsible for issuing the respective construction permits; therefore, on October 25, 2005, a site visit was carried out, in which authorities from the Municipalidades of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, as well as the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, participated, with the aim of seeking a solution to the reported problem, for which the parties agreed to render a report of which the respondent Área Rectora did not receive a copy, a situation that was reported to the petitioner. Now, as a result of the report by the Área de Salud of Montes de Oca on the appearance of two cases of hepatitis in the Calle Siles sector, specifically in the dwelling owned by the respondent Nora Mena Mena, the intervention was carried out by the Área Rectora of Curridabat, described in official communication ARSC-VE-043-2007 of April 12, 2007, proceeding—due to the conditions found in the reported dwelling—to issue administrative acts to both the tenants and the owner of the property, ordering the correction and elimination of the deficiencies detected, through sanitary orders numbered from 045-07 to 054-07. However, as indicated in official communication ARSC-VE-043-2007, locating the owner was difficult because the tenants gave erroneous names or numbers, until later, a family member of the same who works at the University of Costa Rica was found, through whom the act to improve the physical sanitary deficiencies detected was notified; and as of the date on which the respondent officials of the Ministerio de Salud render their report in this recourse, the sanitary orders issued were within their validity period, such that they have not proceeded to issue a final resolution until the period has expired. However, as can be observed, the participation of the respondent Ministerio has not been swift or effective, as more than two years have passed since the respective complaint was filed, and they are still in the process of applying a final resolution in the case. As a corollary to the foregoing, it is evident that the intervention of the authorities could have been more drastic and effective in time, as corresponds in Law according to the powers assigned to that Body and the police powers the law confers upon it to enforce its orders, leaving in the members of this Court the perception that it has been the action of an Administration that exhausts its activity in bureaucratic procedures but does not solve concrete problems, to the detriment of health and the environment and, consequently, in violation of Article 50 of the Constitution, which is not tolerable for this Chamber and, by virtue thereof, it is also found co-responsible for omission in not effectively applying a measure within a reasonable period, taking into account the pollution problem alleged.

V.3) Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. Its Executive President informs the Chamber that according to an inspection carried out at the scene of the events, it was determined that at the site several houses were observed in overcrowded conditions, located contiguous to the Quebrada Ocloro, which at plain sight shows conditions of pollution due to discharge of residual waters, and it was found that there is no sanitary sewer network of AyA, nor manholes, nor traps, elements typical of a residual water collection system for a dwelling, nor do they pay for the sanitary sewer service because the network of the Instituto he represents does not exist. In turn, the reported dwelling houses operate only with septic tanks that do not function and drain fields, and not with an AyA network; therefore, if they are not functioning adequately, it is the responsibility of the owners or the users for not giving them the necessary maintenance, meaning that the competent body, in this case the Ministerio de Salud, must issue the corresponding sanitary orders to the indicated neighbors, granting a prudential period to rehabilitate their septic tanks in order to eliminate the discharges into the Quebrada Ocloro. Nonetheless, the respondent is overlooking that, by legal imperative, the entity he represents is in charge of directing and supervising everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the Republic with a service of potable water, collection and evacuation of blackwater and industrial waste, and stormwater in urban areas, such that even though the same law allows the systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations to continue under their charge, it is so only “as long as they provide an efficient service,” which is obviously not the case at hand. It is thus the omission in fulfilling that directing and supervisory role that also makes the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados co-responsible for the constitutional injuries that give rise to the granting of this recourse, with its consequences.

V.4) Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. The Minister of that branch recognizes his competence as the governing body in environmental matters at the national level and states that once the site subject to this recourse was inspected on the same day he renders his report, he has considered proceeding to assume the immediate commitment to coordinate both with the Municipalidad de Montes de Oca and with that of Curridabat, as well as with the Ministerio de Salud, a joint solution to this problem. He assures that in inspection report number CPI-001-005, it was determined that the site is occupied by a precarious settlement (precario) partly in Montes de Oca and partly in Curridabat, as the Quebrada Ocloro is the intercantonal boundary and both banks and the bed are invaded by buildings. He adds that on the south side of the railway line and below its level and within the bed and the protection area of the Quebrada Ocloro, a compact group of shanties is observed from east to west over and along 60 meters of the stream, then the bed opens up for a space of 50 meters to reach a huge metal grate installed by the Plaza del Sol Shopping Center, where in the enclosed conduit section an accumulation of solid waste of heterogeneous origin is observed such as vehicle parts, electrical appliances, or construction materials; furthermore, underground rat galleries are observed, and there is evidence of dengue outbreaks and bad smells from excreta. In conclusion, the cited report determined that at the site, discharges of graywater and accumulation of solid waste are observed in the open bed where dwelling houses exist. Now, he considers that in his opinion, in the present case, treatment should not be individualized by issuing sanitary measures, but rather the matter must be addressed in a strategic manner, creating adequate conditions for the development of social, migration, and public health policies, among others, to generate in family nuclei a waste management policy and its proper treatment and attention to the problem. In summary, despite the express acknowledgment of the problem by the governing body in environmental matters at the national level, the truth is that it does not indicate that any specific measure capable of stopping in the short term the environmental deterioration that is being verified in the Quebrada Ocloro and that is the object of this amparo action has been taken, which makes that Ministerio co-responsible for the infringement of fundamental rights verified here.

VI.- Conclusion. In light of the considerations made based on the evidence attached to the record, the Chamber considers that none of the respondent institutions is exempt from responsibility for the constitutional violations verified to the detriment of a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, because, by omission or slowness of action, all have failed to comply with an express constitutional mandate. It is not within the competence of this Chamber to technically determine the type and magnitude of pollution that the Quebrada Ocloro and the surrounding communities endure, nor the measures that must be taken to solve the problem, but from the evidence analyzed, it is possible to determine that this pollution is indeed occurring, in clear violation of everyone's right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, which justifies granting the recourse. The responsibility alluded to arises, primarily, from the mere fact of tolerating and not executing in effective time the measures that the Legal System provides to remedy a situation in which human health and the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment recognized by Article 50 of our Constitución Política are endangered, meaning that the state institutions involved cannot postpone the solution to a problem that compromises people's health while engaging in a dispute to decide which one is to blame for the problem or in what proportion they are, or which one is even territorially competent to address it. Regarding the State's obligation to protect the right to health, the Chamber has ruled on multiple occasions, so it is not relevant here to detail the Court's position again (Rulings No. 2728-91, 3891-93, and 4504-93, among many others). Thus, in summary, responsibility lies, firstly, with the Municipalidades of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, for being the entities that must corroborate the existence of a true sanitary sewer system in the disputed area; therefore, this omission demonstrates total inefficiency, as a chaotic situation that has been dragging on for many years is verified. Secondly, the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, for being the entity created by law to direct and supervise everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the republic with a service of collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas, which is responsible for directly administering and operating the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the entire country, the argument that in this specific case it bears no responsibility because it is, in the opinion of the Executive President, a matter for the respondent Municipalidades and mainly the Ministerio de Salud to handle being unacceptable, as the law clearly states that this situation can be maintained only as long as the municipal corporations provide an efficient service, which is not the case verified here. As for the Ministerio de Salud, for being the governing body in health matters in the country, which, also having known for years from the Área Rectora de Salud of Curridabat of the lack of treatment of the blackwater and residual waters alleged by the protected party, has been inefficient and lacking in speed when making decisions, since almost two years passed before imposing a sanitary measure against the inhabitants of the reported dwellings, without an efficient final resolution having been issued in this case, meaning they have not correctly utilized the avenues the legal system grants them, as an Administration that does not act in a prudential time, within the framework of its powers, to fulfill the duties legally and constitutionally entrusted to it.

Finally, the Ministry of Environment and Energy has not undertaken actions aimed at fulfilling its duties, and therefore its actions have not been timely either, contributing by omission also to the consummation of the constitutional violations that lead to the granting of this remedy, since it is evident that the environmental damage suffered by the Ocloro creek has turned it into a site unfit for housing and hardly suitable for any productive activity.” **I.-** Purpose of the remedy. The petitioners allege that in the vicinity of the Plaza del Sol Shopping Center (specifically, behind it), after the railway bridge, there is a slum settlement where around 50 people live, most of whom are undocumented Nicaraguan nationals, where serious health problems are experienced and its inhabitants live in overcrowded conditions since sanitary services are scarce, and they add that its owners, lacking toilet paper, use newspapers, thereby constantly causing overflows that discharge fecal matter into the Ocloro River. In this way, for years the residents of that community have had to endure nauseating odors and the emergence of diseases such as hepatitis, which causes a serious problem for public safety; however, despite having pursued a solution to the problem for two years, the plaintiff has achieved nothing concrete, given that by official communication ARSC-UPAH-810-2005 of October 25, 2005, the Curridabat Health Area (Área Rectora de Curridabat) of the Ministry of Health merely stated that it would report on the follow-up of the case in due course, without undertaking major actions. In their judgment, such a situation is an arbitrary administrative act that violates constitutional rights.

**III.- Wastewater treatment and environmental protection.** Article 50 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica enshrines the right of every person to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, as well as the correlative duty of the State to guarantee, defend, and preserve that right. To fulfill this task, it is incumbent upon the State—in a broad sense—among other things, to provide the necessary measures so that timely and effective treatment of blackwater and wastewater (aguas negras y residuales) is provided in the country, an activity that is indispensable for the prevention of environmental and water pollution, apart from establishing suitable oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with those measures. The absence of treatment of blackwater and wastewater means that they are generally discharged into surface waters, thereby creating an obvious danger to human health, as this is a problem directly related to the presence of infectious diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and many others, which have claimed no small number of lives worldwide. Likewise, discharge into surface waters entails a danger to animals and, in general, to the ecology. The public interest involved in this issue is evident and has even been recognized in a publication of December seventh recently past in La Gaceta number 239, Decree number 32133-S of November nineteenth, two thousand four, through which the Executive Branch provided in Article 1° the following:

“It is declared of public interest and social necessity the design, financing, execution, operation, and maintenance of the works required for the collection, treatment, and final disposal of ordinary-type wastewater generated in urban centers, where individual solutions for the disposal of wastewater are technically and environmentally inadequate.” The inertia of the State in fulfilling its duties in protection of the environment and human health, as alleged here, involves not only entities such as the respondent Municipality, but also the Health Area (Área Rectora de Salud) and the Ministry of Health itself, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Energy itself, representatives who under oath expressed what concrete measures they have taken within the framework of their competencies to fulfill the constitutional mandate.

**IV.-** Regulatory framework. As occurs in other areas of Administrative Law, the regulations aimed at environmental protection and, particularly, those related to the matter at hand here, are scattered, which entails a difficulty in individualizing responsibilities in the event of non-compliance by the Administration; however, it is clear that this is an obligation of the State that emanates from the Political Constitution and is developed in law. Thus, Article 28 of the Organic Law of the Environment establishes the following:

“**Territorial planning (ordenamiento territorial) policies** *It is the function of the State, the municipalities, and other public entities, to define and execute national territorial planning policies, aimed at regulating and promoting human settlements and the economic and social activities of the population, as well as physical-spatial development, in order to achieve harmony between the greater well-being of the population, the use of natural resources, and the conservation of the environment.*” Likewise, in its Article 50, that normative body refers to water as a public domain asset, whose conservation and sustainable use are of social interest. Concurrently, in the following provision, it sets forth the criteria that must be applied for the conservation and sustainable use of water, among which are the following:

“a) Protect, conserve, and, where possible, recover aquatic ecosystems and the elements that intervene in the hydrological cycle. b) Protect the ecosystems that allow for regulating the hydrological regime. c) Maintain the equilibrium of the water system, protecting each of the components of the hydrographic basins.” Similarly, Article 52 ibid establishes that these criteria must also be applied in the preparation and execution of any planning for water resources, in the granting of concessions and permits to utilize any component of the hydrological regime, as well as:

“d) In the operation and administration of potable water systems, **the collection, evacuation, and final disposal of wastewater or waste, serving industrial population centers.**” –The highlighting is not in the original- The same Law, in its Article 65, orders that wastewater of any origin must receive treatment before being discharged into rivers, lakes, seas, and other bodies of water; at the same time, they must achieve the quality established for the receiving body, according to its current and potential use and for its future utilization in other activities. For its part, the General Health Law number 5395 addresses the issue by prohibiting any action, practice, or operation that deteriorates the natural environment or that, by altering the composition or intrinsic characteristics of its basic elements, especially air, water, and soil, produces a decrease in their quality and aesthetics, renders such assets unusable for some of the uses for which they are intended, or creates risks to human health or to fauna or flora harmless to man. For this purpose, Article 294 defines atmospheric contamination for legal and regulatory effects as:

“...the deterioration of its purity by the presence of contaminating agents, such as solid particles, dust, smoke, vapor, gases, radioactive materials, and others, that the Ministry defines as such, in concentrations higher than those permitted by air purity standards accepted internationally and declared official by the Ministry. Air contamination is also deemed, for the same effects, the presence of emanation or foul odors that affect the quality of the environment, harming the well-being of people. Sound emission that exceeds the standards accepted internationally and declared official by the Ministry shall also be considered atmospheric contamination.” Furthermore, the aforementioned normative body establishes, as an obligation of every person, compliance with the actions, practices, or works established in the law and regulations intended to eliminate or control the elements and factors of the natural, physical, or biological environment and of the artificial environment that are harmful to human health (Article 263). Similarly, in Book 1, Title III of that Law, the duties of persons for the conservation and conditioning of the environment and the restrictions to which they are subject in their activities for the benefit of its preservation are set forth. Specifically, in Chapter III *“On the obligations and restrictions for the sanitary evacuation of excreta and wastewater and blackwater”* the following is established:

***“Article 285.-*** *Excreta, blackwater, wastewater, and stormwater must be adequately and sanitarily disposed of in order to avoid contamination of the soil and natural water sources for human use and consumption, the formation of vector breeding grounds and diseases, and air contamination through conditions that threaten its purity or quality.* ***Article 286.-*** *Every natural or legal person is obliged to carry out the drainage works that the health authority orders in order to prevent the formation of unsanitary and infectious foci, or to remediate those existing on their property.* *If the owner is reluctant to comply with such orders, the health authority may perform them at the expense of the defaulter.* *In cases where the public interest, nature, and scale of the drainage works justify it, every property owner is obliged to establish an easement in favor of the State so that the health authority may construct such works, and the expropriation of the land may be decreed when the easement is incompatible with its use.* *Maintenance and operation, if applicable, shall be the responsibility of the beneficiaries of such works.* ***Article 287.-*** *Every natural or legal person, owner of dwellings or of establishments or buildings in which persons carry out their activities, shall be responsible for ensuring that such properties have a system for the disposal of excreta and blackwater and wastewater approved by the Ministry, and users of dwellings, establishments, or buildings shall be obliged to maintain said system in good operating condition.* ***Article 288.-*** ***Every owner is obliged to connect the excreta, blackwater, and wastewater disposal system of their property to the sanitary sewer system in places where it is in operation, except in cases of exception that the pertinent regulations recognize as appropriate***. –The bold and underlining are not in the original- **Article 289.-** ***Every sewer system** , **shall be under the technical control of the Ministry and the National Service of Aqueducts and Sewer Systems (Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado) and private or public law persons who construct, administer, and operate them shall be subject to the standards that the Executive Branch, in consultation with the National Service of Aqueducts and Sewer Systems**, **issues to condition their construction, operation, and the final evacuation and treatment of effluents.**”* –The bold highlighting is not in the original- ***Article 290.-*** *It is prohibited for any person to destroy or damage public or private drainage systems or to obstruct their operation.* ***Article 291.-*** *It is prohibited to discharge industrial waste and waste from health establishments into the sanitary sewer system without prior authorization from the health authority and without complying with the instructions it may order to render them innocuous, in order to prevent any damage to the drainage system, or to avoid contamination of water sources or courses; of the soil and air, or any other risk to human health derived from the inadequate final evacuation of the drainage.* ***Article 292.-*** ***It is prohibited, in all cases, to discharge blackwater, wastewater, and industrial waste into the stormwater sewer system. The Ministry is empowered to restrict, regulate, or prohibit the disposal of non-biodegradable synthetic products through collection systems for excreta, blackwater, and wastewater***. -The bold highlighting is not in the original- ***Article 337.-*** ***The application and control of compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations shall be exclusively the responsibility of the health authorities, without prejudice to the powers and obligations that special laws grant and impose upon other public bodies within their respective fields of action.*** (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 338.-** For all purposes of the application of this law and other pertinent health or sanitary laws and their regulations, health authorities shall be considered: the Ministry of Public Health and its dependent officials in positions of General Directorate, Directorate or Headship of Medical or Technical Health Divisions or Departments or of a geographical health area, as well as those who by special laws have such quality and powers.

**Article 339.-** The mentioned authorities may delegate to officials in their dependency, for the better service and application of the provisions of this law and its regulations, specific powers pertaining to their position.

**Article 340.-** The health authorities, within the powers conferred by this law and its regulations and in accordance with the competence and jurisdiction assigned by the organic regulation of the Ministry, may issue resolutions ordering measures of a general or particular nature, as appropriate, for the better application and compliance. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 341.-** They may also, within the mentioned powers and jurisdictions, order and take the special measures enabled by this law to prevent risk or damage to the health of persons or to prevent these from spreading or worsening, and to inhibit the continuation or recurrence of the infringement by individuals.

**Article 342.-** It shall also be the responsibility of the Minister to issue the technical health standards to which natural or legal persons of private or public law must adhere in the matters that this law requires. -The highlighting is not from the original- **Article 344.-** Public or semi-public bodies of decentralized or deconcentrated administration, in any degree, that administer services of public interest such as the supply of drinking water, sewage collection (alcantarillado) and solid waste collection, or others that by the nature of their functions may seriously affect or damage the health of the population, through technical inefficiency or insufficiency of their services, are also subject to the standards and the control and supervision referred to in the preceding article. -The bold highlighting is not from the original- **Article 346.-** To carry out effective control of compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations, and complementary resolutions that health authorities issue within their competencies, officials dependent on the Ministry, duly identified, may conduct inspections or visits to carry out sanitary operations, collect samples or gather background information or evidence, in buildings, homes and industrial and commercial establishments, and in any place where infractions of the aforementioned laws, regulations, and resolutions could be perpetrated.

**Article 347.-** In the event that natural or legal persons prevent entry or access to the places or properties, or interfere with the actions of the officials, or refuse to hand over samples and background information, the health authority may request a search warrant (orden de allanamiento) from the judicial authority, which must be issued within twenty-four calendar hours of being requested.

The Ministry officials entrusted with such diligence shall execute the search warrant (allanamiento), being obliged to adhere to the pertinent legal provisions and the administrative and technical procedural provisions of the Ministry.

The search warrant (allanamiento) shall have the sole purpose of carrying out the specific diligence for which it was requested by the health authority, and the officials executing it shall be liable for any unnecessary harm caused by their action or by the excess of their functions.

**Article 348.-** The health authorities may request the assistance of the public force and other administrative authorities to carry out the actions inherent to their position for which they have been specially commissioned. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 349.-** Ministry officials who hold inspection positions and have been specially commissioned to verify infractions of this law or its regulations shall have the character of health authority; they shall have public faith regarding the complaints filed against natural or legal persons for facts or acts involving infraction of such provisions or that constitute a crime. The Agricultural Quarantine Inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock shall have this same character.

**Article 355.-** With a view to the effective protection of the health of the population and individuals, the competent health authorities may decree measures whose purpose is to prevent the appearance of dangers and, by their own authority, the aggravation or spread of damage, or the continuation or recurrence in the perpetration of legal or regulatory infractions that threaten the health of persons. (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 356.-** The following are declared special measures, for the purposes indicated in the previous article: seizure (retención), withdrawal from commerce or circulation, confiscation (decomiso), denaturation and destruction of material goods, the demolition and eviction of homes and other buildings intended for other uses, the closure of establishments; the cancellation of permits; the order for the paralysis, destruction or execution of works, as appropriate; the isolation, observation and internment of persons affected or suspected of being affected by notifiable diseases; the isolation or slaughter of animals affected or suspected of being affected by notifiable epizootics.

**Article 357.-** The measures referred to in the previous article may be ordered directly by the health authorities or may arise as ancillary to the sanctions applied for the infraction and without prejudice to the civil or criminal liabilities of those responsible.

**Article 378.-** Anyone failing to comply with the orders or special or general measures issued by the health authorities shall suffer a penalty of five to thirty days-multa (días multa), if the act does not constitute a crime. (The bold highlighting is not from the original).

For its part, Law No. 7317, the Wildlife Conservation Law (Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre), of December seventh, nineteen ninety-two, in its article 132 states:

"**The discharge of wastewater (aguas servidas), sewage (aguas negras), waste or any contaminating substance into springs (manantiales), rivers, streams (quebradas), permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, peatlands, swamps, fresh, brackish or salt water is prohibited.** Agro-industrial and industrial facilities and other installations must be equipped with treatment systems to prevent solid waste or contaminated water of any type from destroying wildlife. The certification of water quality shall be provided by the Ministry of Health.

Those who fail to comply with the provisions of this article shall be fined amounts ranging from fifty thousand colones (¢50,000) to one hundred thousand colones (¢100,000), convertible into a prison sentence of one to two years." -The bold highlighting is not from the original- With the purpose of directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, carrying out and promoting planning, financing and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of drinking water and the collection and evacuation of sewage (aguas negras) and liquid industrial waste, as well as the normative aspect of storm drainage systems (sistemas de alcantarillado pluvial) in urban areas, for the entire national territory, the Constitutive Law of the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados) declared that entity an autonomous institution of the State (article 1), which is responsible, among other things, for:

"a) **Directing and supervising everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the republic with a service of drinking water, collection and evacuation of sewage (aguas negras) and liquid industrial waste and stormwater (aguas pluviales) in urban areas;** b) Determining the priority, suitability and feasibility of the different projects proposed for constructing, reforming, expanding, modifying aqueduct and sewer works; which may not be executed without its approval; c) **Promoting the conservation of hydrographic basins and ecological protection, as well as the control of water contamination;** d) **Advising other State bodies and coordinating public and private activities in all matters relating to the establishment of aqueducts and sewers and control of contamination of water resources, its consultation being mandatory in all cases, and compliance with its recommendations inexcusable;** e) Preparing all plans for public works related to the purposes of this law, as well as approving all those for private works that relate to aqueduct and sewer systems, as determined by the respective regulations; f) Utilizing, employing, governing or supervising, as the case may be, all public domain waters indispensable for the due fulfillment of the provisions of this law, in exercise of the rights that the State has over them, in accordance with Law number 276 of August 27, 1942, **to which effect the Institute shall be considered the substitute body for the powers attributed in that law to the State, ministries and municipalities;** g) Directly administering and operating the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, which shall be assumed taking into account convenience and availability of resources. **The systems that are currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may remain under their charge, as long as they provide an efficient service.** Under no concept may it delegate the administration of the aqueduct and sanitary sewer systems of the Metropolitan Area.

Nor may it delegate the administration of systems for which financial responsibility exists and as long as this responsibility corresponds directly to the Institute.

The institution is empowered to agree with local bodies on the administration of such services or to administer them through administrative boards (juntas administradoras) of mixed integration between the Institute and the respective communities, whenever this is conducive to the better provision of services and in accordance with the respective regulations.

For the same reasons and with the same characteristics, regional administrative boards involving several municipalities may also be created; h) Enforcing the General Potable Water Law, to which effect the Institute shall be considered the substitute body for the ministries and municipalities indicated in said law; i) **Constructing, expanding and reforming the aqueduct and sewer systems in those cases where it is necessary and the best satisfaction of national needs so advises; and** j) Controlling the adequate investment of all resources that the State allocates for aqueduct and sanitary sewer works." -The bold highlighting is not from the original- In the regulatory sphere, there is the "Regulation for the Discharge and Reuse of Wastewater (Reglamento de Vertido y Reuso de Aguas Residuales), number 26042-S-MINAE," which in its article 1 establishes:

**"Objectives and scope** The objective of this Regulation is the protection of public health and the environment, through an environmentally adequate management of wastewater (aguas residuales)." It shall be applicable throughout the entire national territory for the management of wastewater (aguas residuales), which regardless of its origin is discharged or reused." <o:p></o:p> Article 3 thereof provides that every generating entity shall be subject to the application of the provisions established in the Ley General de Salud and in Article 132 of the Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre. Likewise, it states that: <o:p></o:p> "The buildings, establishments, and installations under their responsibility must be equipped with the necessary treatment systems so that their wastewater complies with the provisions of this Reglamento, thus preventing damage to wildlife, health, or human well-being." <o:p></o:p> The regulatory standard establishes the physicochemical and bacteriological parameters that must be analyzed in the wastewater discharged into a receiving body or sanitary sewer system, both for project processing purposes and for the preparation of operational reports, and its Article 32 authorizes the reuse of wastewater when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Environmental Sanitation Division (División de Saneamiento Ambiental) of the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and the MINAE that such reuse will not deteriorate the quality of surface and groundwater. For the monitoring of reused wastewater, the minimum required frequencies for sampling and conducting the respective laboratory analyses are expressly set by the Reglamento, as seen in its Article 35: <o:p></o:p> "For the monitoring of reused wastewater, the minimum required frequencies for sampling and conducting the respective laboratory analyses shall be those indicated in Table 8 of the Appendix, which is an integral part of this Reglamento. The Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health may require frequencies different from those in Table 8, in those cases where the protection of public health or the environment so requires. The operational reports must be submitted to the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health on a quarterly basis. Those generating entities that reuse wastewater in discontinuous periods must submit three equidistant reports within the duration of each reuse cycle." -The highlighting is not from the original- <o:p></o:p> Article 39 ibid prohibits the discharge of sludge from wastewater treatment systems and septic tanks into bodies of water. For these purposes, the provisions issued in this regard by the Ministry of Health govern. Regarding operational reports, Article 43 stipulates the following: <o:p></o:p> "Generating entities that submit an operational report in which one or more parameters exceed the maximum permissible limits established by this Reglamento shall have two courses of action: <o:p></o:p> a) If the values obtained in the analysis in question are caused by ordinary variations of the treatment system, they may request an accredited laboratory to repeat the analysis of said parameters, on three different days distributed over a period not exceeding fifteen calendar days from the date of the analysis in question. They must then submit these results as an addendum to the original operational report. <o:p></o:p> b) If the variation is not of an ordinary type, because the generating entity so considers or the results of subsection (a) so prove, then the generating entity shall have a period of one month from notification to submit a schedule of corrective actions, aimed at achieving the wastewater quality established by this Reglamento. <o:p></o:p> Said schedule shall be reviewed by the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health, which shall issue its opinion in this regard within a period not exceeding one month from its receipt. That Division shall make available to the public an explanatory guide on the requirements that the schedule must meet to be accepted. <o:p></o:p> During the period defined by the approved schedule, the generating entity must continue to submit operational reports normally, according to the frequencies established by this Reglamento, attaching a progress report on the corrections made. <o:p></o:p> In the event of non-compliance with said schedule and if the non-compliance with the provisions of this Reglamento persists, the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health shall forward the respective water quality certification to the MINAE, in order to apply the sanctions stipulated in Article 132 of the Ley de Conservación de la Vida Silvestre to the generating entity. It may also cancel the Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento and execute the closure of the building or establishment generating the discharge of the wastewater , according to the provisions of the Ley General de Salud." - The bold highlighting is not from the original- <o:p></o:p> Several conclusions are easily drawn from the cited regulations, namely: 1) All inhabitants of the country are entitled to the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment; 2) It is the responsibility of the State—including the municipalities as entities charged with safeguarding local interests—to guarantee, defend, and preserve that right; 3) The design, financing, execution, operation, and maintenance of the works required for the collection, treatment, and final disposal of ordinary-type wastewater generated in urban centers, where individual solutions for wastewater disposal are technically and environmentally inadequate, is of public interest; 4) It is prohibited to discharge sewage, blackwater, waste, or any contaminating substance into springs, rivers, streams, permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes, and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, pipes, swamps, fresh, brackish, or saltwater, and non-compliance with this provision is punishable by fine; 5) The Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados was created by law as the public entity responsible for directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, carrying out and promoting planning, financing, and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of potable water and collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste, as well as the regulatory aspect of storm sewer systems in urban areas, for the entire national territory. It is responsible for that entity, among other things, to direct and oversee everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the Republic with a service of potable water, collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas. It must advise other State bodies and coordinate public and private activities in all matters relating to the establishment of aqueducts and sewer systems and the control of water resource contamination, its consultation being mandatory, in any case, and compliance with its recommendations inexcusable; 6) By legal imperative, the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados is responsible for directly administering and operating the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, although systems that are currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may remain under their charge, but the Ley Constitutiva of that entity is very clear in establishing that this is so "as long as they provide an efficient service."; 7) To guarantee compliance with regulations protecting the environment and human health, the Ley General de Salud grants sovereign powers to health authorities with a view to enforcing, even through the use of public force, the provisions and orders they issue in the exercise of their competencies. <o:p></o:p> V .- Specific Case. Based on the norms cited above and the conclusions drawn from them, this Chamber finds that in the specific case, the infringements of the fundamental rights alleged by the petitioners have indeed occurred. Indeed, from the evidence included in the case file and the reports rendered by the Mayors of the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, as well as by the Minister of Health, the Director, and the Head of the Human Environment Protection Section, both from the Curridabat Health Area (Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat), it is established that at the specific site subject to this appeal—Calle Siles, behind Plaza del Sol—there is no sewer network for the dwellings subject to the complainant's complaint before the Curridabat Health Area, meaning that the waste of various kinds from the inhabitants of the respondent's dwellings is being discharged into the Quebrada Ocloro, because, as the respondents themselves report, said domiciles were built many years ago without the corresponding permits and without taking the pertinent health and hygiene measures. Furthermore, as reported by the respondents themselves, as could be corroborated from the on-site visits to the focus of the problem, it appears that the wastewater from those dwellings is being evacuated directly into the river, along with water with clear traces of soap. Regarding the responsibility of the respondent authorities in the constitutional infringements that are verified, a breakdown is provided for ease of exposition. <o:p></o:p> V.1) Municipality of Curridabat and the Municipality of Montes de Oca. Article 169 of the Constitución Política stipulates that the administration of local interests and services in each canton shall be the responsibility of the Municipal Government. On other occasions, the Chamber has stated that this provision does not define or provide sufficient elements of judgment to definitively extract what should be understood by "local interests and services," as it is an indeterminate legal concept like others found in the Constitution, such as "public order" or "good customs"; however, the Chamber has stated that "...the power attributed to local governments to plan urban development within the limits of their territory does form part of the constitutional concept of "local interests and services" referred to in Article 169 of the Constitution, a competence that was recognized by the Ley de Planificación Urbana" (Judgment number 6706-93). The same ruling also stated, as relevant: <o:p></o:p> "Urban planning, that is, the preparation and implementation of regulatory plans, is a function inherent to the municipalities to the exclusion of any other public entity, except as stated regarding the general directive powers attributed to the Ministerio de Planificación and the Dirección de Urbanismo." <o:p></o:p> Consequently, it is the responsibility of the municipalities to authorize housing developments in their territory, which in each case must be harmonized with the development and improvement plans for the aqueduct and sewer systems in the canton, without which no development will be possible, for technical reasons (nonexistence of pipe networks, tanks, flows, etc.) that allow supplying water to any new development. As the entity responsible for safeguarding local interests, it is responsible for verifying that developments comply with the provisions of current urban planning regulations. It thus follows that municipal corporations cannot disassociate themselves from the national urban planning problem, due to the constitutional responsibility that each of them has to ensure harmonious development and services, which is an integral part of the concept "local interests and services". In the case before us, the Municipality of Curridabat, as has been demonstrated in the case file, is the entity that should exercise greater control over the lack of a sanitary sewer system for the reported dwellings, which causes the wastewater from the dwellings to be deposited freely and without control into the bed of the Quebrada Ocloro. In this regard, the representation of the respondent Municipality argues that what happens is that those houses in its jurisdiction are not inhabited by their owners, but are a kind of tenement housing that has been rented to people, mostly foreigners, who live in overcrowded conditions, as upon approaching the domiciles, odors of fecal matter are noticeable. However, they cannot confirm that there are overflows in the creek due to newspaper waste, because on the same day this report is rendered, the officials from the Legal Advisory Office and the Dirección de Planeamiento Territorial of the Municipality they represent visited the site but no problem of that kind was visible; however, it indicates that the wastewater from those dwellings is being evacuated directly into the river, attributing responsibility to the Ministry of Health, and regarding the protection zone where the dwellings are being built, this is possibly the responsibility—in its opinion—of the MINAE and the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, which is responsible for piping the portion of the Quebrada Ocloro's bed located in the Canton of Curridabat. Now, in the case of the Municipality of Montes de Oca, although its Mayor alleges that it lacks territorial competence to hear the case, under oath the Mayor of Curridabat affirms that part of the sector falls under his jurisdiction, however not entirely, and that even the garbage collection service in the area is carried out by the Municipality of Montes de Oca; in turn, the Minister of MINAE himself affirms that the Quebrada Ocloro is the inter-cantonal boundary, and both banks and the bed are invaded by buildings. In any case, the dispute over territorial competencies between both Municipalities is a matter they must resolve among themselves, as it is not within the purview of this Chamber to analyze their territorial competence, over a creek that suffers from contamination and which, as recorded on the cartographic map provided as evidence by the Municipal Mayor of Montes de Oca himself, also crosses the canton that said official represents. Now, the Municipality of Curridabat, through its Mayor, also does not deny the absence of treatment of the blackwater and wastewater from the reported dwellings referred to by the petitioners. <o:p></o:p> V.2) Ministry of Health. It is evident from the evidence included in the case file that the local authorities have been aware of the problem before us for years and have undertaken some interventions aimed at its solution, given that, as recorded in the attached evidence and in the report itself rendered under oath—with the even criminal consequences that arise therefrom, as set forth in Article 44 of the Ley que rige esta Jurisdicción Constitucional—that on December 10, 2004, the Curridabat Health Area received official letter ARSMO 1864-04, by which a complaint filed by Mrs. Aida Corrales was forwarded, regarding contamination problems of the Quebrada Ocloro, in the sector of Calle Siles, on the border between the cantons of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, which, as is evident from the evidence provided itself, has subsequently undergone an entire process during the years 2004 up to the present, as it is evident that on May 19, 2005, the officials of the respondent Health Area conducted a visit to the site and generated report ARSC-UPAH-276-2005, where the situation found is described, as the river presents contamination practically from its spring (naciente), given that the Freses Development (Urbanización Freses) was installed there, meaning the problem had to be handled inter-institutionally, and on the same day, the Human Environment Protection Unit (Unidad de Protección al Ambiente Humano) of the South Central Region issued official letter ARSC-UPAH- 277-2005 addressed to the complainant Aída Corrales, attaching the aforementioned report. Subsequently, on June 24, 2005, they sent official letter ARSC-UPAH-379-2005 to the Mayor of the Municipality of Curridabat, requesting municipal intervention to verify the legal conditions of the constructions located on the riverbanks, as that municipal corporation is responsible for issuing the respective construction permits, so on October 25, 2005, a visit to the site was conducted, in which authorities from the Municipalities of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, and in turn from the MINAE, participated, with the aim of finding a solution to the reported problem, so the parties agreed to render a report, of which the respondent Health Area did not receive a copy, a situation that was reported to the petitioner. Now, as a result of the report by the Health Area of Montes de Oca of the appearance of two cases of hepatitis in the Calle Siles sector, specifically in the dwelling owned by the respondent Nora Mena Mena, the intervention by the Curridabat Health Area described in official letter ARSC-VE-043-2007 of April 12, 2007, was carried out, proceeding—due to the conditions found in the reported dwelling—to issue administrative acts to both the tenants and the property owner, ordering the correction and elimination of the detected deficiencies, through sanitary orders numbers 045-07 to 054-07. However, as indicated in official letter ARSC-VE-043-2007, locating the owner was difficult because the tenants gave wrong names or numbers, until later, a relative of hers working at the Universidad de Costa Rica was found, through whom the act was notified to her to improve the detected physical-sanitary deficiencies, and as of the date on which the respondent officials of the Ministry of Health rendered their report in this appeal, the issued sanitary orders were within their validity period, so they have not proceeded to issue a final resolution until the period has expired. However, as can be observed, the participation of the respondent Ministry has not been swift or effective, as more than two years have elapsed since the respective complaint was filed, and they are still in the process of applying a final resolution in the case. As a corollary of the foregoing, it is evident that the authorities' intervention could have been more drastic and effective over time, as corresponds in law according to the competencies assigned to that Body and the police powers that the law grants it to enforce its orders, leaving the members of this Tribunal with the perception that the Administration's action exhausts itself in bureaucratic procedures, but does not solve concrete problems, to the detriment of health and the environment and, consequently, in violation of Article 50 of the Constitution, which is not tolerable for this Chamber, and, by virtue thereof, it is also found co-responsible, by omission for not effectively applying a measure within a reasonable time, given the contamination problem alleged. <o:p></o:p> V.3) Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. The Chamber is informed by its Executive President that, according to an inspection conducted at the site of the events, it was determined that several houses in overcrowded conditions were observed at the site, located adjacent to the Quebrada Ocloro, which at first glance shows contamination conditions due to wastewater discharge, and it was established that there is no AyA sanitary sewer network, nor manholes, nor traps, elements typical of a wastewater collection system for a dwelling, nor do they pay the sanitary sewer service because the network of the Institute he represents does not exist. In turn, the reported dwelling houses function only with septic tanks that do not work and drains, and not with the AyA network, so if they are not functioning adequately, it is the responsibility of the owners or the users for not providing the necessary maintenance; therefore, the competent body, in this case the Ministry of Health, must issue the corresponding sanitary orders to the indicated neighbors, granting a reasonable period to rehabilitate their septic tanks in order to eliminate the discharges into the Quebrada Ocloro. However, the respondent is overlooking the fact that, by legal imperative, the entity he represents is responsible for directing and overseeing everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the Republic with a service of potable water, collection and evacuation of blackwater and industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas, so that although the same law allows systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations to remain under their charge, it is only so "as long as they provide an efficient service," which is obviously not the case before us. It is thus the omission in fulfilling that directive and oversight function that also renders the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados co-responsible for the constitutional injuries that cause this appeal to be granted, with its consequences. <o:p></o:p> V.4) MINAE. The Minister of the branch acknowledges his competence as the governing entity in environmental matters at the national level and states that after inspecting the site subject to this appeal on the same day he renders his report, he has considered proceeding to assume the immediate commitment to coordinate with both the Municipality of Montes de Oca and the Municipality of Curridabat, as well as with the Ministry of Health, a joint solution to this problem. He assures that in inspection report number CPI-001-005, it was determined that the site is occupied by a slum (precario) partly in Montes de Oca and partly in Curridabat, as the Quebrada Ocloro is the inter-cantonal boundary, and both banks and the bed are invaded by buildings.

It adds that on the south side of the railway line and below its level, and within the channel and the protection area of the Ocloro stream (quebrada Ocloro), one can observe from east to west a compact hamlet built on and along 60 meters of the stream; then the channel opens up for a space of 50 meters until reaching an enormous metal grate installed by the Plaza del Sol Shopping Center, where in the piped section an accumulation of solid waste of heterogeneous origin is observed, such as vehicle parts, electrical appliances, or construction materials; subterranean rat galleries are also observed, and there is evidence of dengue outbreaks and foul odors from excreta. In conclusion, the cited report determined that discharges of untreated wastewater (aguas servidas) and the accumulation of solid waste are observed at the site in the open channel where dwelling houses exist. However, he considers that, in his opinion, this case should not be treated individually by issuing sanitary measures, but rather the matter must be addressed strategically, creating adequate conditions for the development of social, migratory, and public health policies, among others, to generate a policy of waste management and its proper treatment and management within family units. In summary, despite the express acknowledgment of the problem by the national environmental governing body, the fact is that it does not indicate that any specific measure has been taken capable of stopping in the short term the environmental deterioration that is being verified in the Ocloro stream (quebrada Ocloro) and that is the subject of this amparo action, which makes that Ministry co-responsible for the infringement of the fundamental rights that are verified herein.

**VI** .- **Conclusion.** In light of the considerations made based on the evidence added to the case file, this Chamber considers that none of the respondent institutions is exempt from responsibility for the constitutional violations verified to the detriment of a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, since, by omission or slowness of action, all have failed to comply with an express constitutional mandate. It is not within the competence of this Chamber to determine, technically, the type and magnitude of pollution affecting the Ocloro stream (quebrada Ocloro) and the surrounding communities, nor the measures that should be taken to solve the problem, but from the analyzed evidence it can indeed be determined that this pollution is occurring, in clear violation of everyone's right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, for which reason the granting of the amparo action is appropriate. The responsibility to which reference has been made arises, primarily, from the mere fact of tolerating and not executing in a timely manner the measures that the Legal System provides to remedy a situation in which human health and the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment recognized by Article 50 of our Political Constitution are endangered, such that the state institutions involved cannot postpone the solution to a problem that compromises people's health, while they engage in a dispute to decide which one is to blame for the problem, in what proportion they are, or who is territorially competent to address it. Regarding the State's obligation to safeguard the right to health, this Chamber has ruled on multiple occasions, so it is not pertinent here to detail again the Court's position (Judgments No. 2728-91, 3891-93 and 4504-93, among many others). Thus, in summary, responsibility lies, in the first place, with the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, because they are the entities that must verify that a true sanitary sewer system exists in the area in dispute, for which reason this omission demonstrates total inefficiency, since a chaotic situation is verified that has been dragging on for many years. In the second place, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados), because it is the entity created by law to direct and supervise everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the republic with a service for the collection and evacuation of blackwater and liquid industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas, which is responsible for directly managing and operating the aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, without the argument being admissible that in this specific case it bears no responsibility because it is a matter that, in the opinion of the Executive President, should be handled by the respondent Municipalities and mainly the Ministry of Health, since the law clearly states that this situation can be maintained only as long as the municipal corporations provide an efficient service, which is not the case verified here. As for the Ministry of Health, because it is the governing body in health matters in the country, which, also aware for years from the Curridabat Health Governing Area (Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat) of the lack of treatment of blackwater and residual waters alleged by the protected party, has been inefficient and slow in making decisions, since almost two years passed before it imposed a sanitary measure against the inhabitants of the reported dwellings, without a final resolution having been efficiently issued in this case, for which reason it has not correctly utilized the avenues that the legal system grants it, as an Administration that does not act within a prudential time, within the framework of its competencies, to fulfill the duties legally and constitutionally entrusted to it. Finally, the Ministry of Environment and Energy has not undertaken actions aimed at fulfilling its functions, so its actions have also not been timely, contributing by omission as well to the consummation of the constitutional infractions that cause the granting of this amparo action, since it is evident that the environmental damage affecting the Ocloro stream (quebrada Ocloro) has turned it into a site unsuitable for housing and hardly suitable for any productive activity." As occurs in other areas of Administrative Law, the regulations aimed at environmental protection and, particularly, those related to the matter before us are dispersed, which entails difficulty in identifying responsibilities in the event of non-compliance by the Administration; however, it is clear that this is an obligation of the State emanating from the Political Constitution and developed in law. Thus, Article 28 of the Ley Orgánica del Ambiente establishes the following:

"**Policies of land-use planning (ordenamiento territorial)** *It is the function of the State, the municipalities, and other public entities to define and execute national land-use planning (ordenamiento territorial) policies, aimed at regulating and promoting human settlements and the economic and social activities of the population, as well as physical-spatial development, in order to achieve harmony between the greater well-being of the population, the use of natural resources, and the conservation of the environment.*" Likewise, Article 50 of that normative body refers to water as a public domain asset whose conservation and sustainable use are of social interest. Similarly, the following article provides the criteria that must be applied for water conservation and sustainable use, among which are the following:

*"a) Protect, conserve, and to the extent possible, recover aquatic ecosystems and the elements involved in the hydrological cycle." b) Protect the ecosystems that regulate the water regime.

c)Maintain the balance of the water system, protecting each of the components of the watersheds (cuencas hidrográficas)."* In the same way, Article 52 thereof establishes that these criteria must also be applied in the preparation and execution of any water resource planning, in the granting of concessions (concesiones) and permits for the use of any component of the water regime, as well as:

*"d) In the operation and administration of potable water systems, **the collection, evacuation, and final disposal of residual or waste water, serving industrial population centers**."* -The highlighting is not from the original- The same Law, in its Article 65, orders that residual water of any origin must receive treatment before being discharged into rivers, lakes, seas, and other bodies of water; at the same time, it must achieve the quality established for the receiving body, according to its current and potential use and for its future use in other activities. For its part, the Ley General de Salud number 5395 addresses the issue by prohibiting any action, practice, or operation that deteriorates the natural environment or that, by altering the composition or intrinsic characteristics of its basic elements, especially air, water, and soil, produces a decrease in their quality and aesthetics, renders such assets unusable for some of their intended uses, or creates risks for human health or for fauna or flora harmless to humans. To this effect, Article 294 defines air contamination for legal and regulatory purposes as:

*"...the deterioration of its purity by the presence of contaminating agents, such as solid particles, dust, smoke, vapor, gases, radioactive materials, and others, which the Ministry defines as such, in concentrations higher than those permitted by the internationally accepted air purity standards and declared official by the Ministry." Air contamination is also deemed, for the same purposes, the presence of emanations or foul odors that affect the quality of the environment, harming people's well-being.

The emission of sounds that exceed the standards internationally accepted and declared official by the Ministry shall also be considered atmospheric contamination."* Furthermore, the aforementioned normative body establishes as an obligation of every person, compliance with the actions, practices, or works established in the law and regulations intended to eliminate or control the elements and factors of the natural, physical, or biological environment and of the artificial environment that are harmful to human health (Article 263). Similarly, Book 1, Title III of that Law records the duties of persons for the conservation and conditioning of the environment and the restrictions to which their activities are subject for the benefit of its preservation. Specifically, in Chapter III *"De las obligaciones y restricciones para la evacuación sanitaria de excretas y aguas servidas y negras"* (On the obligations and restrictions for the sanitary evacuation of excreta and gray and black water), the following is established:

**"Article 285.-** *Excreta, black water, gray water, and stormwater must be eliminated adequately and sanitarily to prevent the contamination of soil and natural water sources for human use and consumption, the formation of vector and disease breeding sites, and air contamination through conditions that threaten its purity or quality.* **Article 286.-** *Every natural or legal person is obliged to carry out the drainage (drenaje) works ordered by the health authority in order to prevent the formation of unsanitary and infectious foci, or to sanitize those existing on their property.* *If the owner is recalcitrant in complying with such orders, the health authority may carry them out at the expense of the defaulter.* *In cases where the public interest, nature, and scale of the drainage (drenaje) works so justify, every property owner is obliged to constitute an easement (servidumbre) in favor of the State so that the health authority builds such works, and the expropriation of the land may be decreed when the easement (servidumbre) is incompatible with its use.* *The maintenance and operation, if applicable, shall be the responsibility of the beneficiaries of such works.* **Article 287.-** *Every natural or legal person, owner of homes, establishments, or buildings in which people carry out their activities, shall be responsible for ensuring that such properties have a system for the disposal of excreta and black and gray water approved by the Ministry, and the users of homes, establishments, or buildings shall be obliged to maintain said system in good working order.* **Article 288.-** ***Every owner is obliged to connect the excreta, black water, and gray water elimination system of their property to the sanitary sewer system (alcantarillado sanitario) in places where it is in operation, except in cases of exception that the pertinent regulations recognize as admissible**.* -The highlighting and underlining are not from the original- **Article 289.-** ***Every sewer system (alcantarillado) shall be under the technical control of the Ministry and the Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado, and the private or public legal persons that build, administer, and operate them shall be subject to the norms that the Executive Branch, in consultation with the Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado, issues to condition their construction, operation, and the evacuation and final treatment of effluents.**"* -The bold highlighting is not from the original- **Article 290.-** *Every person is prohibited from destroying or damaging public or private drainage (desagües) systems or obstructing their operation.* **Article 291.-** *Discharging industrial waste and waste from health establishments into the sanitary sewer system (alcantarillado sanitario) is prohibited without prior authorization from the health authority and without complying with the instructions it may order to render them harmless, in order to prevent any damage to the drainage (desagüe) system, or to avoid the contamination of water sources or courses; soil and air, or any other risk to human health arising from the inadequate final evacuation of the drainage (desagües).* **Article 292.-** ***In all cases, the discharge of black water, gray water, and industrial waste into the storm sewer system (alcantarillado pluvial) is prohibited. The Ministry is empowered to restrict, regulate, or prohibit the elimination of non-biodegradable synthetic products through the excreta, black water, and gray water collection systems***. -The bold highlighting is not from the original- **Article 337.-** ***The application and control of compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations shall be the exclusive responsibility of the health authorities, without prejudice to the powers and obligations that special laws grant and impose on other public bodies within their respective fields of action.*** (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 338.-** *For all effects of the application of this law and other pertinent health or sanitary laws and their regulations, the following shall be considered health authorities: the Ministry of Public Health and the officials under its dependency in positions of General Directorate, Directorate or Headship of Medical or Technical Health Divisions or Departments or geographic health area, as well as those who by special laws have such status and powers.* **Article 339.-** *The aforementioned authorities may delegate to officials under their dependency, for the better service and application of the provisions of this law and its regulations, specific powers pertaining to their position.* **Article 340.-** ***The health authorities**, within the powers conferred upon them by this law and its regulations and in accordance with the competence and jurisdiction assigned to them by the organic regulation of the Ministry, **may issue resolutions ordering measures of a general or particular nature, as appropriate, for their better application and compliance.*** (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 341.-** *They may also, within the aforementioned powers and jurisdictions, order and take the special measures authorized by this law to prevent risk or damage to people's health, or to prevent such risks or damage from spreading or worsening, and to inhibit the continuation or recurrence of the infraction by private parties.* **Article 342.-** ***It shall also be the responsibility of the Minister to issue the technical health standards to which natural or legal private or public persons must adhere in the matters where this law so requires.*** -The highlighting is not from the original- **Article 344.-** ***Likewise, the public or semi-public bodies of decentralized or deconcentrated administration at any level that administer services of public interest, such as potable water supply, sewer systems (alcantarillado), and solid waste collection, or others that, by the nature of their functions, may seriously affect or harm the population's health due to technical inefficiency or insufficiency of their services, are subject to the norms and control and supervision referred to in the preceding article.*** -The bold highlighting is not from the original- **Article 346.-** *For the purpose of effectively controlling compliance with the provisions of this law and its regulations, and complementary resolutions issued by the health authorities within their competences, properly identified officials under the Ministry may conduct inspections or visits to carry out sanitary operations, collect samples, or gather information or evidence in buildings, homes, and industrial and commercial establishments, and in any place where infractions of the aforementioned laws, regulations, and resolutions may be perpetrated.* **Article 347.-** *In the event that natural or legal persons prevent entry or access to the places or properties, or interfere with the officials' actions, or refuse to deliver samples and information, the health authority may request a search warrant (orden de allanamiento) from the judicial authority, which must be issued within twenty-four calendar hours of the request.* *The Ministry officials entrusted with such diligence shall carry out the search (allanamiento), being obliged to comply with the pertinent legal provisions and the Ministry's administrative and technical procedural provisions.* *The search (allanamiento) shall be for the sole purpose of carrying out the specific diligence for which it was requested by the health authority, and the officials who execute it shall be liable for any unnecessary harm caused by their actions or by exceeding their functions.* **Article 348.-** ***The health authorities may request the assistance of the public force and other administrative authorities to carry out the actions inherent to their position for which they have been specially commissioned.*** (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 349.-** *Ministry officials holding inspection positions who have been specially commissioned to verify infractions of this law or its regulations shall have the status of health authority, and shall have public faith regarding the complaints filed against natural or legal persons for facts or acts involving an infraction of such provisions or that constitute a crime.* Agricultural Quarantine Inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock shall have this same character.

**Article 355.-** **In view of the effective protection of the health of the population and individuals, the competent health authorities may decree measures whose purpose is to prevent the emergence of dangers and, by their own authority, the aggravation or spread of harm, or the continuation or recidivism in the perpetration of legal or regulatory infractions that threaten the health of persons.** (The bold highlighting is not from the original) **Article 356.-** *The following are declared special measures, for the purposes indicated in the preceding article: retention, withdrawal from commerce or circulation, confiscation (decomiso), denaturing and destruction of material goods, demolition and eviction of dwellings and other buildings intended for other uses, closure of establishments; cancellation of permits; the order to halt, destroy, or execute works, as applicable; isolation, observation, and internment of persons affected by or suspected of being affected by notifiable diseases; the isolation or slaughter of animals affected by or suspected of being affected by notifiable epizootics.* **Article 357.-** *The measures referred to in the preceding article may be ordered directly by the health authorities or may arise as accessory to the sanctions imposed for the infraction and without prejudice to the civil or criminal liabilities of those responsible.* **Article 378.-** **Anyone who fails to comply with the special or general orders or measures issued by the health authorities shall serve a penalty of five to thirty days' fine, if the act does not constitute a crime.** (The bold highlighting is not from the original).

For its part, the *Wildlife Conservation Law (Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre)*, number 7317 of December seventh, nineteen ninety-two, states in its article 132:

*“**It is prohibited to discharge wastewater (aguas servidas), sewage (aguas negras), waste or any contaminating substance** into springs (manantiales), rivers, **streams (quebradas)**, permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, peat bogs, swamps, fresh, brackish or salt waters.* *Agro-industrial and industrial facilities and other installations must be equipped with treatment systems to prevent solid waste or contaminated water of any type from destroying wildlife. The water quality certification shall be issued by the Ministry of Health.* *Those who fail to comply with the provisions of this article shall be fined amounts ranging from fifty thousand colones (¢50,000) to one hundred thousand colones (¢100,000), convertible into a prison sentence of one to two years.”* -The bold highlighting is not from the original- With the purpose of directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, undertaking and promoting planning, financing and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of drinking water and the collection and evacuation of sewage and liquid industrial waste, as well as the regulatory aspect of storm sewer systems in urban areas, for the entire national territory, the Organic Law of the *Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados)* declared that entity an autonomous institution of the State (article 1), to which corresponds, among other things:

*“a) **Direct and oversee everything concerning the provision to the inhabitants of the republic of a service of drinking water, collection and evacuation of** **sewage and liquid industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas;*** *b) Determine the priority, suitability and feasibility of the different projects proposed to construct, reform, expand, modify aqueduct and sewer works; which may not be executed without its approval;* ***c) Promote the conservation of watersheds (cuencas hidrográficas) and ecological protection, as well as the control of water pollution;*** ***d) Advise other State bodies and coordinate public and private activities in all matters relating to the establishment of aqueducts and sewers and the control of water resource pollution, its consultation being mandatory in all cases, and compliance with its recommendations inexcusable;*** *e) Prepare all plans for public works related to the purposes of this law, as well as approve all those for private works related to aqueduct and sewer systems, as determined by the respective regulations;* *f) Harness, utilize, govern or oversee, as the case may be, all public-domain waters indispensable for due compliance with the provisions of this law, in exercise of the rights the State holds over them, pursuant to law number 276 of August 27, 1942, **for which purpose the Institute shall be considered the substituting body for the powers attributed in that law to the State, ministries and municipalities;*** *g) Directly administer and operate aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, which shall be progressively assumed taking into account suitability and resource availability. **The systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may remain under their charge, as long as they provide an efficient service.*** *Under no concept may it delegate the administration of the aqueduct and sanitary sewer systems of the Metropolitan Area.* *Nor may it delegate the administration of systems over which financial responsibility exists and while this corresponds directly to the Institute.* *The institution is empowered to agree with local bodies on the administration of such services or to administer them through administrative boards of mixed integration between the Institute and the respective communities, whenever this is suitable for the better provision of services and in accordance with the respective regulations.* *For the same reasons and with the same characteristics, regional administrative boards involving several municipalities may also be created;* *h) Enforce the General Drinking Water Law, for which purpose the Institute shall be considered the substituting body for the ministries and municipalities indicated in said law;* ***i) Construct, expand and reform aqueduct and sewer systems in those cases where it is necessary and so advised for the better satisfaction of national needs; and*** *j) Control the adequate investment of all resources that the State allocates for aqueduct and sanitary sewer works.”* -The bold highlighting is not from the original- In the regulatory sphere, there is the *“Regulation on the Discharge and Reuse of Wastewater (Reglamento de Vertido y Reuso de Aguas Residuales), number 26042-S-MINAE,”* which in its article 1 establishes:

***“Objectives and Scope*** *The objective of this Regulation is the protection of public health and the environment, through an environmentally adequate management of wastewater. It shall be applicable throughout the national territory for the management of wastewater, which regardless of its origin is discharged or reused.”* In its article 3, it provides that every generating entity shall be subject to the application of the provisions of the General Health Law and article 132 of the Wildlife Conservation Law. Likewise, it states:

*“The buildings, establishments and facilities under their charge must be equipped with the necessary treatment systems so that their wastewater complies with the provisions of this Regulation, and thus prevents harm to wildlife, health, or human well-being.”* The regulatory standard establishes the physiochemical and bacteriological parameters that must be analyzed in wastewater that is discharged into a receiving body or sanitary sewer, both for project processing purposes and for the preparation of operational reports, and in its article 32 authorizes the reuse of wastewater when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Energy that this will not deteriorate the quality of surface and groundwater. For the monitoring of wastewater that is reused, the minimum frequencies required for sampling and conducting the respective laboratory analyses are expressly set by the Regulation, as seen in its article 35:

*“For the monitoring of wastewater that is reused, the minimum frequencies required for sampling and conducting the respective laboratory analyses shall be those indicated in Table 8 of the Appendix, which is an integral part of this Regulation. **The Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health may require frequencies different from those in Table 8, in those cases where the protection of public health or the environment so requires.** **The operational reports must be submitted to the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health on a quarterly basis.** Those generating entities that reuse wastewater in discontinuous periods must present three equidistant reports over the duration of each reuse cycle.”* -The highlighting is not from the original- Article 39 ibid prohibits the discharge of sludge from wastewater treatment systems and septic tanks into bodies of water. For these purposes, the provisions issued in this regard by the Ministry of Health shall apply. Regarding operational reports, article 43 stipulates the following:

*“Generating entities that submit an operational report in which one or more parameters exceed the maximum permissible limits established by this Regulation shall have two courses of action:* *a) If the values obtained in the analysis in question are caused by the ordinary variations of the treatment system, it may request an accredited laboratory to repeat the analysis of said parameters, on three different days distributed over a period of no more than fifteen calendar days from the date of the analysis in question. It must then present these results as an addendum to the original operational report.* *b) If the variation is not of an ordinary type, because the generating entity so considers or the results of subsection (a) prove it, then the generating entity shall have a period of one month from the notification to present a schedule of corrective actions, aimed at obtaining the wastewater quality established by this Regulation.* *Said schedule shall be reviewed by the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health, which shall issue its opinion in this regard within a period of no more than one month from its receipt. That Division shall make available to the public an explanatory guide on the requirements that the schedule must meet to be received.* *During the period defined by the approved schedule, the generating entity must continue submitting operational reports normally, according to the frequencies established by this Regulation, attaching a progress report on the corrections made.* ***In the event of non-compliance with said schedule and persistent non-compliance with the provisions of this Regulation, the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health shall refer the respective water quality certification to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, in order to apply to the generating entity the sanctions stipulated in article 132 of the Wildlife Conservation Law. It may likewise cancel the Sanitary Operating Permit and execute the closure of the building or establishment generating the wastewater discharge, according to the provisions of the General Health Law.”*** -The bold highlighting is not from the original- Several conclusions are easily drawn from the cited regulations, namely: 1) All inhabitants of the country are holders of the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment; 2) It is the responsibility of the State—including the municipalities as entities charged with safeguarding local interests—to guarantee, defend, and preserve that right; 3) The design, financing, execution, operation, and maintenance of the works required for the collection, treatment, and final disposal of ordinary wastewater generated in urban centers, where individual solutions for wastewater disposal are technically and environmentally inadequate, is of public interest; 4) It is prohibited to discharge wastewater (aguas servidas), sewage (aguas negras), waste, or any contaminating substance into springs (manantiales), rivers, streams (quebradas), permanent or non-permanent creeks, lakes, marshes and natural or artificial reservoirs, estuaries, pipes, swamps, fresh, brackish, or salt waters, and non-compliance with this provision is punishable by fine; 5) By law, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers was created as a public entity charged with directing, setting policies, establishing and applying standards, undertaking and promoting planning, financing and development, and resolving everything related to the supply of drinking water and the collection and evacuation of sewage and liquid industrial waste, as well as the regulatory aspect of storm sewer systems in urban areas, for the entire national territory. This entity is responsible, among other things, for directing and overseeing everything concerning the provision to the inhabitants of the republic of a service of drinking water, collection and evacuation of sewage and liquid industrial waste and stormwater in urban areas. It must advise other State bodies and coordinate public and private activities in all matters relating to the establishment of aqueducts and sewers and the control of water resource pollution, its consultation being mandatory in all cases, and compliance with its recommendations inexcusable; 6) By legal imperative, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers is responsible for directly administering and operating aqueduct and sewer systems throughout the country, although the systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may remain under their charge, but the Organic Law of that entity is very clear in establishing that this is so “*as long as they provide an efficient service.”*; 7) To guarantee compliance with regulations protecting the environment and human health, the General Health Law confers authoritative powers on health authorities with a view to enforcing, even through public force, the provisions and orders they issue in the exercise of their competences.

**V** .- Specific Case. Based on the norms cited above and the conclusions drawn from them, this Chamber finds that in the specific case, the violations of fundamental rights alleged by the appellants have indeed occurred. Indeed, from the evidence submitted to the record and the reports rendered by the Mayors of the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, as well as by the Minister of Health, the Director and the Head of the Section for the Protection of the Human Environment, both from the Curridabat Health Governing Area, it is established that at the specific site that is the object of this remedy—Calle Siles, behind Plaza del Sol—there is no sewer network for the dwellings subject to the complainant's complaint before the Curridabat Health Governing Area; therefore, waste of various kinds from the inhabitants of the denounced dwellings is being discharged into the Quebrada Ocloro, because according to the respondents themselves, said domiciles were built many years ago without the corresponding permits and without taking pertinent health and hygiene measures.

For its part, as the respondents themselves reported, as could be corroborated from on-site visits to the focus of the problem, it appears that the wastewater from these dwellings is being discharged directly into the river, along with water containing clear traces of soap. Regarding the responsibility of the respondent authorities in the constitutional violations being observed, a breakdown is provided for ease of presentation.

**V.1) Municipality of Curridabat and the Municipality of Montes de Oca.** Article 169 of the Political Constitution stipulates that the administration of local interests and services in each canton shall be in charge of the Municipal Government. On other occasions, this Chamber has stated that this provision does not define or provide further criteria to definitively extract what should be understood by *“local interests and services,”* as it is an indeterminate legal concept like others found in the Constitution, such as *“public order”* or *“good customs”;* however, the Chamber has stated that *“...the power attributed to local governments to plan urban development within the limits of their territory does indeed integrate the constitutional concept of 'local interests and services' referred to in Article 169 of the Constitution, a competence that was recognized by the Urban Planning Law”* (Judgment number 6706-93). In that same ruling, it was also stated, in what is relevant:

*“Urban planning, that is, the development and implementation of regulatory plans, is a function inherent to the municipalities to the exclusion of any other public entity, except as stated regarding the general steering powers attributed to the Ministry of Planning and the Directorate of Urbanism.”* Consequently, it is incumbent upon the municipalities to authorize housing developments within their territory, which in each case must be reconciled with the development and improvement plans for the aqueduct and sewerage systems in the canton, without which no development will be possible, for technical reasons (lack of pipe networks, tanks, flow rates, etc.) that allow water to be supplied to any new development. As the entity responsible for looking after local interests, it is responsible for verifying that developments comply with the provisions of the urban planning regulations in force. Consequently, municipal corporations cannot dissociate themselves from the national urban planning problem, due to the constitutional responsibility each of them has to ensure harmonious development and services, which is an integral part of the concept of *“local interests and services.”* In the case before us, the Municipality of Curridabat, as demonstrated in the case file, is the entity that should exercise greater control due to the lack of sanitary sewerage for the reported dwellings, which causes the wastewater from the dwellings to be freely and uncontrolledly deposited into the course of the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro). In this regard, the representation of the respondent Municipality argues that what is happening is that these houses in its jurisdiction are not inhabited by their owners, but rather are a type of tenement housing that has been rented to people, mostly foreigners, who live in overcrowded conditions, as upon approaching the domiciles, fecal matter odors are noticed. However, they have no evidence that there are overflows in the creek (quebrada) due to newspaper waste, because on the same day it rendered this report, the officials from the Legal Advisory Office and the Directorate of Territorial Planning of the Municipality they represent visited the site but no such problem was visible; nevertheless, it indicates that the wastewater from said dwellings is being discharged directly into the river, for which it attributes responsibility to the Ministry of Health, and regarding the protection zone where the dwellings are being built, this is eventually the responsibility – in its opinion – of the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados), which is responsible for channeling the portion of the course of the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro) located in the Canton of Curridabat. Now, in the case of the Municipality of Montes de Oca, although its Mayor alleges that it lacks territorial competence to hear the case, under oath the Mayor of Curridabat affirms that part of the sector falls under his jurisdiction, however not entirely, and that even the garbage collection service in the zone is carried out by the Municipality of Montes de Oca. In turn, the Minister of Environment and Energy himself affirms that the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro) is the inter-cantonal boundary, and both banks and the watercourse are invaded by buildings. In any case, the territorial competence dispute between both Municipalities is a matter they must resolve between themselves, since it is not for this Chamber to analyze their territorial competence, for a creek (quebrada) that suffers from contamination and which, in the same way as recorded on the cartographic map provided as evidence by the Municipal Mayor of Montes de Oca himself, also crosses the canton that said official represents. Now then, the Municipality of Curridabat, through its Mayor, also does not deny the absence of treatment of the black and residual waters coming from the reported dwellings referred to by the petitioners.

**V.2) Ministry of Health.** It follows from the evidence adduced in the case file that the local authorities have known about the problem before us for years and have carried out some interventions aimed at its solution, considering that, as recorded in the attached evidence and from the report itself rendered under oath – with even the criminal consequences derived therefrom, as follows from Article 44 of the Law governing this Constitutional Jurisdiction – that on December 10, 2004, official letter ARSMO 1864-04 was received at the Curridabat Health Governing Area (Área Rectora de Salud), through which a complaint filed by Mrs. Aida Corrales was forwarded, for contamination problems of the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro), in the Calle Siles sector, boundary between the cantons of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, on which, as shown by the very evidence provided, an entire process has continued throughout the years 2004 to the present, since it follows that on May 19, 2005, the officials of the respondent Health Governing Area carried out a site visit and generated report ARSC-UPAH-276-2005, where the situation found is described, since the river presents contamination practically from its spring (nacimiento), given that the Freses Development was installed at its location, so the problem required inter-institutional treatment. On that same day, the Human Environment Protection Unit of the South Central Region issued official letter ARSC-UPAH- 277-2005 addressed to the complainant Aída Corrales, attaching the aforementioned report. Subsequently, on June 24, 2005, they addressed official letter ARSC-UPAH-379- 2005 to the Mayoress of the Municipality of Curridabat, requesting municipal intervention to verify the legal conditions of the constructions located on the riverbanks, since that municipal corporation is responsible for issuing the respective construction permits. Therefore, on October 25, 2005, a site visit was conducted, in which authorities from the Municipalities of Montes de Oca and Curridabat, and also the Ministry of Environment and Energy participated, with the goal of finding a solution to the reported problem, for which the parties agreed to render a report of which the respondent Health Governing Area did not receive a copy, a situation that was communicated to the petitioner. Now then, following the report by the Montes de Oca Health Area of the appearance of two cases of hepatitis in the Calle Siles sector, specifically in the dwelling owned by the respondent Nora Mena Mena, an intervention was carried out by the Curridabat Governing Area, described in official letter ARSC-VE-043- 2007 of April 12, 2007, proceeding – due to the conditions found in the reported dwelling – to issue administrative acts to both the tenants and the property owner, ordering the correction and elimination of the deficiencies detected, through health orders numbered from 045-07 to 054-07. However, as indicated in official letter ARSC-VE-043-2007, locating the owner was difficult because the tenants gave incorrect names or numbers, until subsequently, a relative of hers who works at the University of Costa Rica was finally found, with whom the act was notified to improve the physical-sanitary deficiencies detected, with the understanding that on the date on which the respondent officials from the Ministry of Health rendered their report in this appeal, the health orders issued were within the validity period, and therefore they have not proceeded to issue a final resolution until the deadline has expired. However, as can be observed, the participation of the respondent Ministry has not been prompt or effective, since more than two years have passed since the respective complaint was filed, and they are still in the process of applying a final resolution in the case. As a corollary of the foregoing, it is evident that the intervention of the authorities could have been more drastic and effective over time, as corresponds in Law according to the powers assigned to that Body and the police powers that the law confers upon it to enforce its orders, leaving the members of this Tribunal with the perception that it has been the action of an Administration that exhausts its activity in bureaucratic procedures but does not solve concrete problems, to the detriment of health and the environment and, consequently, in violation of constitutional Article 50, which is not tolerable for this Chamber and, by virtue of this, it is also found co-responsible, for omission in failing to effectively apply a measure within a reasonable timeframe, taking into account the contamination problem alleged.

**V.3) Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage (Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados).** This Chamber is informed by the Institute's Executive President that, according to an inspection carried out at the location of the events, it was possible to determine that several houses in overcrowded conditions were observed at the site, located adjacent to the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro), which at first glance shows conditions of contamination due to wastewater discharge, so it was possible to determine that there is no sanitary sewerage network from AyA, nor manholes (cajas de registro), nor siphons, which are elements typical of a dwelling's wastewater collection system, nor do they pay for the sanitary sewerage service because the network of the Institute he represents does not exist. In turn, the reported dwellings operate only with septic tanks that do not function and drainage systems, and not with the AyA network. Therefore, if they are not functioning properly, it is the responsibility of the owners or users for not providing the necessary maintenance. Consequently, the competent body, in this case the Ministry of Health, must issue the corresponding health orders to the indicated residents, granting a reasonable period to rehabilitate their septic tanks in order to eliminate the discharges into the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro). However, the respondent is overlooking that by legal imperative, it is the entity he represents that is responsible for directing and overseeing everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the Republic with a service of potable water, collection and evacuation of black water and industrial waste, and stormwater in urban areas, so that even though the same law allows that systems currently administered and operated by municipal corporations may continue to be in charge of them, this is so only *“as long as they provide efficient service,”* which obviously is not the case before us. Thus, the omission in the fulfillment of this steering and oversight role is what also converts the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage into a co-responsible party for the constitutional injuries causing the granting of this appeal, with its consequences.

**V.4) Ministry of Environment and Energy.** The Minister of the branch acknowledges his competence as the governing body in environmental matters at the national level and states that, once the site subject to this appeal was inspected, on the same day he renders his report, he has considered proceeding to assume the immediate commitment to coordinate with both the Municipality of Montes de Oca and the Municipality of Curridabat, as well as the Ministry of Health, a joint solution to this problem. He assures that in tour report number CPI-001-005, it was determined that the site is occupied by a squatter settlement (precario) partly in Montes de Oca and partly in Curridabat, since the Ocloro creek (río Ocloro) is the inter-cantonal boundary and both banks and the watercourse are invaded by buildings. He adds that on the south side of the railway line and below its level and within the watercourse and the protection area of the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro), observing from east to west, there is a compact hamlet over and along 60 meters of the creek (quebrada), then the watercourse opens for a space of 50 meters to reach a huge metal grate installed by the Plaza del Sol Shopping Center, where in the channeled portion, there is an accumulation of solid waste of heterogeneous origins such as vehicle parts, electrical appliances, or construction materials. Furthermore, underground rat galleries are observed, and there are indications of dengue outbreaks and foul excrement odors. In conclusion, the aforementioned report determined that at the site, discharges of raw sewage and an accumulation of solid waste can be observed in the open watercourse where dwellings exist. Now then, he considers in his judgment that this case should not be dealt with in an individualized manner by issuing health measures, but rather the matter must be addressed strategically, creating the appropriate conditions for the development of social, migration, and public health policies among others, to generate in family nuclei a waste management policy and its proper treatment and attention to the problem. In short, despite the express acknowledgment of the problem by the governing body in environmental matters at the national level, the fact is that it does not indicate that any specific measure has been taken capable of stopping in the short term the environmental deterioration that is occurring in the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro) and that is the subject of this amparo action, which makes that Ministry co-responsible for the violation of fundamental rights observed here.

**VI.- Conclusion.** In light of the considerations made based on the evidence adduced in the case file, this Chamber considers that none of the respondent institutions is exempt from responsibility for the constitutional violations observed to the detriment of a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, since, through omission or slowness of action, all have breached an express constitutional mandate. It is not the competence of this Chamber to determine, technically, the type and magnitude of contamination affecting the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro) and the surrounding communities, nor the measures that should be taken to solve the problem, but from the evidence analyzed, it is possible to determine that this contamination is occurring, in clear violation of the right of everyone to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, and therefore the granting of the appeal is appropriate. The responsibility referred to arises, primarily, from the mere fact of tolerating and not executing in a timely manner the measures that the Legal System provides to remedy a situation in which human health and the right to enjoy a healthy and ecologically balanced environment are endangered, a right recognized by Article 50 of our Political Constitution. Thus, the state institutions involved cannot postpone the solution to a problem that compromises people's health, while engaging in a dispute to decide which is to blame for the problem, in what proportion they are, or who is competent at the territorial level to address it. Regarding the State's obligation to safeguard the right to health, the Chamber has pronounced itself on multiple occasions, so it is not pertinent here to detail the Tribunal's position again (Judgments No. 2728-91, 3891-93, and 4504-93, among many others). Thus, in summary, responsibility lies, firstly, with the Municipalities of Curridabat and Montes de Oca, as they are the entities that must verify that a true sanitary sewerage system exists in the disputed area. Therefore, in the face of this omission, total inefficiency is being demonstrated, since a chaotic situation that has been dragging on for many years is observed. Secondly, the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewerage, as it is the entity created by law to direct and oversee everything concerning providing the inhabitants of the republic with a service for the collection and evacuation of black water, liquid industrial waste, and stormwater in urban areas, which is responsible for directly administering and operating the aqueduct and sewerage systems throughout the country, without the argument being admissible that in this specific case it bears no responsibility because it is a matter that, in the judgment of its Executive President, falls to the respondent Municipalities and mainly the Ministry of Health to handle. The law clearly states that this situation can be maintained only as long as the municipal corporations provide efficient service, which is not the case observed here. In regard to the Ministry of Health, as the governing body in health matters in the country, which, also knowledgeable for years through the Curridabat Health Governing Area of the lack of treatment of black and residual water alleged by the protected party, has been inefficient and slow in making decisions, since almost two years elapsed before they imposed a health measure against the inhabitants of the reported dwellings, without an efficient final resolution in this case having been issued. Therefore, they have not correctly employed the avenues that the legal system grants them, like an Administration that does not act within a reasonable timeframe, within the framework of its competencies, to fulfill the tasks legally and constitutionally entrusted to it. Finally, the Ministry of Environment and Energy has not undertaken actions aimed at fulfilling its functions, so its actions have also not been timely, contributing by omission as well to the consummation of the constitutional violations that cause the granting of this appeal, since it is evident that the environmental damage affecting the Ocloro creek (quebrada Ocloro) has turned it into a site unfit for housing and hardly suitable for any productive activity.

“ I .- Objeto del recurso. Los gestionantes acusan que en las inmediaciones del Centro Comercial Plaza del Sol (concretamente, por su parte de atrás), después del puente del ferrocarril, existe un asentamiento de tugurios en el que habitan alrededor de 50 personas que, en su mayoría, son indocumentados de nacionalidad nicaragüense, en donde se experimentan serios problemas sanitarios y sus moradores viven en condiciones de hacinamiento pues los servicios sanitarios son escasos, y añaden que sus dueños, a falta de papel higiénico, usan periódicos, con lo que constantemente provocan rebalses que vierten la materia fecal en el río Ocloro. De esta manera, durante años los vecinos de esa comunidad han tenido que soportar olores nauseabundos y el surgimiento de enfermedades como la hepatitis lo que provoca un serio problema para la seguridad ciudadana, sin embargo, pese a haber gestionado durante dos años una solución al problema, la parte accionante no ha conseguido nada en concreto, siendo que por oficio ARSC- UPAH-810-2005 del 25 de octubre de 2005, el Área Rectora de Curridabat del Ministerio de Salud se limitó a decir que se informaría oportunamente del seguimiento del caso, sin emprender mayores acciones. Tal situación a sus juicios es un acto administrativo arbitrario que infringe el derecho de la Constitución.

III .- Tratamiento de aguas residuales y protección del medio ambiente. El artículo 50 de la Constitución Política de la República de Costa Rica consagra el derecho de toda persona a un ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado, así como el correlativo deber del Estado de garantizar, defender y preservar ese derecho. Para el cumplimiento de este cometido corresponde, entre otras cosas, al Estado -en sentido amplio- disponer de las medidas necesarias para que en el país se brinde tratamiento oportuno y efectivo a las aguas negras y residuales, actividad indispensable para la prevención de la contaminación ambiental y del agua, aparte de establecer los mecanismos de fiscalización idóneos para que se cumplan esas medidas. La ausencia de tratamiento de las aguas negras y residuales implica que, por lo general, sean vertidas en aguas superficiales y con ello se crea un peligro obvio para la salud humana, por tratarse de un problema directamente relacionado con la presencia de enfermedades infecciosas tales como el cólera, hepatitis, disentería, gastroenteritis y muchas otras, que no pocas vidas han cobrado en el mundo. Del mismo modo, el vertido en aguas superficiales conlleva un peligro para los animales y, en general, para la ecología. El interés público involucrado en esta temática es evidente e inclusive ha sido reconocido en publicación del siete de diciembre recién pasado realizada en La Gaceta número 239, Decreto número 32133-S del diecinueve de noviembre de dos mil cuatro, mediante el cual el Poder Ejecutivo dispuso en el artículo 1° lo siguiente:

“Se declara de interés público y necesidad social el diseño, financiamiento, ejecución, operación y mantenimiento de las obras requeridas para la recolección, el tratamiento y disposición final de las aguas residuales de tipo ordinario generados en los centros urbanos, donde las soluciones individuales para la disposición de las aguas residuales técnica y ambientalmente no son adecuadas”.

La inercia del Estado en el cumplimiento de sus funciones en tutela del ambiente y la salud humana, como la que aquí se acusa, involucra no solo a entes como la Municipalidad recurrida, como tanto al Área Rectora de Salud y al propio Ministerio de Salud, como a su vez al propio Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, representantes que bajo fe de juramento para cumplir el mandato constitucional.

IV .- Marco normativo. Al igual que sucede en otros ámbitos del Derecho Administrativo, la normativa tendiente a la protección del medio ambiente y, particularmente, lo relacionado con el tema que aquí nos ocupa se encuentra dispersa, lo que conlleva una dificultad para individualizar responsabilidades en caso de incumplimientos por parte de la Administración; no obstante, es claro que se trata de una obligación del Estado que emana de la Constitución Política y que se desarrolla en la ley. Es así como el artículo 28 de la Ley Orgánica del Ambiente estatuye lo siguiente:

“Políticas del ordenamiento territorial Es función del Estado, las municipalidades y los demás entes públicos, definir y ejecutar políticas nacionales de ordenamiento territorial, tendientes a regular y promover los asentamientos humanos y las actividades económicas y sociales de la población, así como el desarrollo físico espacial con el fin de lograr la armonía entre el mayor bienestar de la población, el aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales y la conservación del ambiente.” Asimismo, en su artículo 50 se refiere ese cuerpo normativo al agua como un bien de dominio público, cuya conservación y uso sostenible son de interés social. Paralelamente en el ordinal siguiente dispone los criterios que deben aplicarse para la conservación y el uso sostenible del agua, entre los que se encuentran los siguientes:

“a) Proteger, conservar y en lo posible, recuperar los ecosistemas acuáticos y los elementos que intervienen en el ciclo hidrológico.

b)Proteger los ecosistemas que permiten regular el régimen hídrico.
c)Mantener el equilibrio del sistema agua, protegiendo cada uno de los componentes de las cuencas hidrográficas.” Del mismo modo, el artículo 52 ibíd instituye que esos criterios deben aplicarse también en la elaboración y la ejecución de cualquier ordenamiento del recurso hídrico, en el otorgamiento de concesiones y permisos para aprovechar cualquier componente del régimen hídrico, así como:

“d) En la operación y la administración de los sistemas, de agua potable, la recolección, la evacuación y la disposición final de aguas residuales o de desecho, que sirvan a centros de población industriales.” -El resaltado no es del original- La misma Ley, en su artículo 65 ordena que las aguas residuales de cualquier origen deberán recibir tratamiento antes de ser descargadas en ríos, lagos, mares y demás cuerpos de agua; al mismo tiempo, deberán alcanzar la calidad establecida para el cuerpo receptor, según su uso actual y potencial y para su utilización futura en otras actividades. Por su parte, la Ley General de Salud número 5395 se ocupa del tema al prohibir toda acción, práctica u operación que deteriore el medio ambiente natural o que alterando la composición o características intrínsecas de sus elementos básicos, especialmente el aire, el agua y el suelo, produzcan una disminución de su calidad y estética, haga tales bienes inservibles para algunos de los usos a que están destinados o cree éstos para la salud humana o para la fauna o la flora inofensiva al hombre. Para tal efecto, el artículo 294 define la contaminación de la atmósfera para los efectos legales y reglamentarios como:

“...el deterioro de su pureza por la presencia de agentes de contaminación, tales como partículas sólidas, polvo, humo, vapor, gases, materias radioactivas y otros, que el Ministerio defina como tales, en concentraciones superiores a las permitidas por las normas de pureza del aire aceptadas internacionalmente y declaradas oficiales por el Ministerio.

Se estima contaminación del aire, para los mismos efectos, la presencia de emanación o malos olores que afecten la calidad del ambiente, perjudicando el bienestar de las personas.

Será asimismo considerada como contaminación atmosférica, la emisión de sonidos que sobrepasen las normas aceptadas internacionalmente y declaradas oficiales por el Ministerio.” Además, instituye el cuerpo normativo antes citado como obligación de toda persona, el cumplimiento de las acciones, prácticas u obras establecidas en la ley y reglamentos destinadas a eliminar o a controlar los elementos y factores del ambiente natural, físico o biológico y del ambiente artificial, perjudiciales para la salud humana (artículo 263). De igual forma, en el Libro 1, Título III de esa Ley se consignan los deberes de las personas para la conservación y acondicionamiento del ambiente y de las restricciones a que quedan sujetas en sus actividades en beneficio de su preservación. Específicamente en el capítulo III “De las obligaciones y restricciones para la evacuación sanitaria de excretas y aguas servidas y negras” se estatuye lo siguiente:

“Artículo 285.- Las excretas, las aguas negras, las servidas y las pluviales, deberán ser eliminadas adecuada y sanitariamente a fin de evitar la contaminación del suelo y de las fuentes naturales de agua para el uso y consumo humano, la formación de criaderos de vectores y enfermedades y la contaminación del aire mediante condiciones que atenten contra su pureza o calidad.

Artículo 286.- Toda persona, natural o jurídica, está obligada a realizar las obras de drenaje que la autoridad de salud ordene a fin de precaver la formación de focos insalubres y de infección, o de sanear los que hubiere en predios de su propiedad.

Si el propietario fuere renuente en el cumplimiento de tales órdenes, la autoridad de salud podrá hacerlos a costa del omiso.

En los casos en que el interés público, la naturaleza y envergadura de las obras de drenaje lo justificare, todo propietario de inmueble está obligado a constituir servidumbre en favor del Estado para que la autoridad de salud construya, tales obras pudiendo decretarse la expropiación del terreno cuando la servidumbre fuere incompatible con su utilización.

El mantenimiento y operación, si procedieren, estará a cargo de los beneficiarios de tales obras.

Artículo 287.- Toda persona, natural o jurídica, propietaria de viviendas o de establecimientos o edificios en que las personas desarrollen sus actividades, responderá de que tales bienes dispongan de un sistema de disposición de excretas y de aguas negras y servidas aprobado por el Ministerio y los usuarios de viviendas, establecimientos o edificios estarán obligados a mantener dicho sistema en buenas condiciones de funcionamiento.

Artículo 288.- Todo propietario queda obligado a conectar el sistema de eliminación de excretas de aguas negras y servidas de su propiedad al alcantarillado sanitario en los lugares en que éste estuviera en funcionamiento, salvo en los casos de excepción que los reglamentos pertinentes reconozcan como procedentes.-El resaltado y el subrayado no son del original- Artículo 289.- Todo sistema de alcantarillado, quedará bajo el control técnico del Ministerio y del Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado y las personas de derecho privado o público que los construyan, administren y operen se sujetarán a las normas que el Poder Ejecutivo, en consulta con el Servicio Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado, dicte para condicionar su construcción, funcionamiento y la evacuación y tratamiento final de los fluentes.” -El resaltado en negritas no es del original- Artículo 290.- Se prohíbe a toda persona destruir o dañar los sistemas de desagües públicos o privados u obstruir su funcionamiento.

Artículo 291.- Queda prohibido, descargar residuos industriales y de establecimientos de salud en el alcantarillado sanitario sin autorización previa de la autoridad de salud y sin cumplir las instrucciones que ésta pueda ordenar para hacerlos inocuos, a fin de precaver cualquier daño al sistema de desagüe, o evitar la contaminación de las fuentes o cursos de agua; del suelo y del aire, o cualquier otro riesgo para la salud humana que se derive de la evacuación final inadecuada de los desagües.

Artículo 292.- Queda prohibido, en todo caso la descarga de las aguas negras, de las aguas servidas y de residuos industriales, al alcantarillado pluvial. El Ministerio queda facultado para restringir, regular, o prohibir la eliminación de productos sintéticos no biodegradables a través de los sistemas de recolección de excretas, aguas negras y servidas. -El resaltado en negritas no es del original- Artículo 337.- Corresponderá privativamente a las autoridades de salud la aplicación y el control del cumplimiento de las disposiciones de la presente ley y de su reglamentación, sin perjuicio de las facultades y obligaciones que leyes especiales otorguen e impongan a otros organismos públicos dentro de sus respectivos campos de acción. (El resaltado en negritas no es del original) Artículo 338.- Para todos los efectos de la aplicación de esta ley y de otras leyes pertinentes a salud o sanitarias y sus reglamentos, se considerarán autoridades de salud: el Ministerio de Salubridad Pública y los funcionarios de su dependencia en posiciones de Dirección General, de Dirección o Jefatura de Divisiones o Departamentos Médicos o Técnicos de Salud o de área geográfica de salud, así como aquellos que por leyes especiales tengan tal calidad y atribuciones.

Artículo 339.- Las autoridades mencionadas, podrán delegar en funcionarios de su dependencia, para el mejor servicio y aplicación de las disposiciones de esta ley y sus reglamentos, atribuciones específicas atingentes a su cargo.

Artículo 340.- Las autoridades de salud dentro de las atribuciones que les confiere esta ley y su reglamentación y de acuerdo con la competencia y jurisdicción que les asigne el reglamento orgánico del Ministerio podrán dictar resoluciones ordenando medidas de carácter general o particular, según corresponda, para la mejor aplicación y cumplimiento. (El resaltado en negritas no es del original) Artículo 341.- Podrán, asimismo, dentro de las atribuciones y jurisdicciones mencionadas, ordenar y tomar las medidas especiales que habilita esta ley para evitar el riesgo o daño a la salud de las personas o que éstos se difundan o se agraven y para inhibir la continuación o reincidencia en la infracción de los particulares.

Artículo 342.- Corresponderá asimismo, al Ministro dictar las normas técnicas de salud a que deberán ceñirse las personas físicas o jurídicas de derecho privado o público en las materias que esta ley lo requiera. -El resaltado no es del original- Artículo 344.- Quedan, asimismo, sujetos a las normas y al control y supervigilancia, aludidos en el artículo anterior, los organismos públicos o semipúblicos de administración descentralizada o desconcentrada en cualquier grado que administren servicios de interés público tales como el abastecimiento del agua potable, alcantarillado y recolección de residuos sólidos u otros que por la naturaleza de sus funciones puedan afectar o dañar gravemente la salud de la población, por ineficiencia técnica o insuficiencia de sus servicios. -El resaltado en negritas no es del original- Artículo 346.- Para efectos de llevar a cabo el efectivo control del cumplimiento de las disposiciones de esta ley y de sus reglamentos, de resoluciones complementarias que las autoridades de salud dicten dentro de sus competencias, podrán los funcionarios dependientes del Ministerio, debidamente identificados, hacer inspecciones o visitas para practicar operaciones sanitarias, recoger muestras o recolectar antecedentes o pruebas, en edificios, viviendas y establecimientos industriales, de comercio y en cualquier lugar en el que pudieran perpetrarse infracciones a las leyes y reglamentos y resoluciones aludidos.

Artículo 347.- En el caso que las personas, físicas o jurídicas, impidieren la entrada o acceso a los lugares o inmuebles o interfirieren con la actuación de los funcionarios o se negaren a la entrega de muestras y antecedentes, podrá la autoridad de salud solicitar de la autoridad judicial la orden de allanamiento, la que deberá ser dictada dentro de las veinticuatro horas naturales de solicitada.

Los funcionarios del Ministerio a quien se les encomiende tal diligencia, practicarán el allanamiento debiendo sujetarse a las disposiciones legales pertinentes y a las disposiciones administrativas y técnicas de procedimientos del Ministerio.

El allanamiento tendrá por objeto realizar únicamente la diligencia específica para la que ha sido solicitada por la autoridad de salud y los funcionarios que la cumplan responderán de todo perjuicio innecesario causado por su actuación o por la extralimitación en sus funciones.

Artículo 348.- Las autoridades de salud, podrán solicitar el auxilio de la fuerza pública y de las otras autoridades administrativas, para llevar a cabo las actuaciones inherentes a su cargo para las cuales hayan sido especialmente comisionados. (El resaltado en negritas no es del original) Artículo 349.- Tendrán carácter de autoridad de salud los funcionarios del Ministerio, que desempeñen cargos de inspección que hayan sido especialmente comisionados para la comprobación de infracciones a esta ley o a sus reglamentos, tendrán fe pública en cuanto a las denuncias que se formulen contra personas físicas o jurídicas por hechos o actos que involucren infracción a tales disposiciones o que constituyen delito. Tendrán este mismo carácter los Inspectores de Cuarentena Agropecuaria del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería.

Artículo 355.- Teniendo en vista una efectiva protección de la salud de la población y los individuos, las autoridades de salud competentes podrán decretar, medidas cuya finalidad tiendan a evitar la aparición de peligros y por propia autoridad la agravación o difusión del daño, o la continuación o reincidencia en la perpetración de infracciones legales o reglamentarias que atenten contra la salud de las personas. (El resaltado en negritas no es del original) Artículo 356.- Se declaran medidas especiales, para los efectos señalados en el artículo anterior, la retención, el retiro del comercio o de la circulación, el decomiso, la desnaturalización y la destrucción de bienes materiales, la demolición y desalojo de viviendas y otras edificaciones destinadas a otros usos, la clausura de establecimientos; la cancelación de permisos; la orden de paralización, destrucción o ejecución de obras, según corresponda; el aislamiento, observación e internación de personas afectadas o sospechosas de estarlo por enfermedades transmisibles; de denuncia obligatoria; el aislamiento o sacrificio de animales afectados o sospechosos de estarlo por epizootias de denuncia obligatoria.

Artículo 357.- Las medidas a que se refiere el artículo anterior podrán ser ordenadas directamente por las autoridades de salud o podrán sobrevenir como accesorias de las sanciones que se apliquen por la infracción y sin perjuicio de las responsabilidades civiles o penales de los responsables.

Artículo 378.- El omiso en el cumplimiento de las ordenes o medidas especiales o generales, dictados por las autoridades de salud, suplirá la pena de cinco a treinta días multa, si el hecho no constituye delito. (El resaltado en negritas no es del original).

Por su parte, la Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre, número 7317 del siete de diciembre de mil novecientos noventa y dos en su artículo 132 dice:

“Se prohíbe arrojar aguas servidas, aguas negras, desechos o cualquier sustancia contaminante en manantiales, ríos, quebradas, arroyos permanentes o no permanentes, lagos, marismas y embalses naturales o artificiales, esteros, turberas, pantanos, aguas dulces, salobres o saladas.

Las instalaciones agroindustriales e industriales y las demás instalaciones, deberán estar provistas de sistemas de tratamientos para impedir que los desechos sólidos o aguas contaminadas de cualquier tipo destruyan la vida silvestre. La certificación de la calidad del agua será dada por el Ministerio de Salud.

Quienes no cumplan con lo estipulado en este artículo, serán multados con montos que irán de cincuenta mil colones (¢50.000) a cien mil colones (¢100.000), convertibles en pena de prisión de uno a dos años.” -El resaltado en negritas no es del original- Con el objeto de dirigir, fijar políticas, establecer y aplicar normas, realizar y promover el planeamiento, financiamiento y desarrollo y de resolver todo lo relacionado con el suministro de agua potable y recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales líquidos, lo mismo que el aspecto normativo de los sistemas de alcantarillado pluvial en áreas urbanas, para todo el territorio nacional, la Ley Constitutiva del Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados declaró a esa entidad como institución autónoma del Estado (artículo 1), a la que corresponde, entre otras cosas:

“a) Dirigir y vigilar todo lo concerniente para proveer a los habitantes de la república de un servicio de agua potable, recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales líquidos y de aguas pluviales en las áreas urbanas; b) Determinar la prioridad, conveniencia y viabilidad de los diferentes proyectos que se propongan para construir, reformar, ampliar, modificar obras de acueductos y alcantarillados; las cuales no se podrán ejecutar sin su aprobación; c) Promover la conservación de las cuencas hidrográficas y la protección ecológica, así como el control de la contaminación de las aguas; d) Asesorar a los demás organismos del Estado y coordinar las actividades públicas y privadas en todos los asuntos relativos al establecimiento de acueductos y alcantarillados y control de la contaminación de los recursos de agua, siendo obligatoria, en todo caso, su consulta, e inexcusable el cumplimiento de sus recomendaciones; e) Elaborar todos los planos de las obras públicas relacionadas con los fines de esta ley, así como aprobar todos los de las obras privadas que se relacionen con los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados, según lo determinen los reglamentos respectivos; f) Aprovechar, utilizar, gobernar o vigilar, según sea el caso, todas las aguas de dominio público indispensables para el debido cumplimiento de las disposiciones de esta ley, en ejercicio de los derechos que el Estado tiene sobre ellas, conforme a la ley número 276 de 27 de agosto de 1942, a cuyo efecto el Instituto se considerará el órgano sustitutivo de las potestades atribuidas en esa ley al Estado, ministerios y municipalidades; g) Administrar y operar directamente los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados en todo el país, los cuales se irán asumiendo tomando en cuenta la conveniencia y disponibilidad de recursos. Los sistemas que actualmente están administrados y operados por las corporaciones municipales podrán seguir a cargo de éstas, mientras suministren un servicio eficiente.

Bajo ningún concepto podrá delegar la administración de los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillado sanitario del Área Metropolitana.

Tampoco podrá delegar la administración de los sistemas sobre los cuales exista responsabilidad financiera y mientras ésta corresponda directamente al Instituto.

Queda facultada la institución para convenir con organismos locales, la administración de tales servicios o administrarlos a través de juntas administradoras de integración mixta entre el Instituto y las respectivas comunidades, siempre que así conviniere para la mejor prestación de los servicios y de acuerdo con los reglamentos respectivos.

Por las mismas razones y con las mismas características, también podrán crearse juntas administradoras regionales que involucren a varias municipalidades; h) Hacer cumplir la Ley General de Agua Potable, para cuyo efecto el Instituto se considerará como el organismo sustituto de los ministerios y municipalidades indicados en dicha ley; i) Construir, ampliar y reformar los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados en aquellos casos en que sea necesario y así lo aconseje la mejor satisfacción de las necesidades nacionales; y j) Controlar la adecuada inversión de todos los recursos que el Estado asigne para obras de acueductos y alcantarillado sanitario.” -El resaltado en negritas no es del original- En el ámbito reglamentario se cuenta con el “Reglamento de Vertido y Reuso de Aguas Residuales, número 26042-S-MINAE”, que en su artículo 1 establece:

“Objetivos y alcances El presente Reglamento tiene por objetivo la protección de la salud pública y del ambiente, a través de una gestión ambientalmente adecuada de las aguas residuales . Será aplicable en todo el territorio nacional para el manejo de las aguas residuales, que independiente de su origen sean vertidas o reusadas.” En su artículo 3 dispone que todo ente generador será sujeto de aplicación de lo establecido en la Ley General de Salud y en el artículo 132 de la Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre. Asimismo, dice que:

“Los edificios, establecimientos e instalaciones a su cargo deberán estar provistos de los sistemas de tratamiento necesarios para que sus aguas residuales cumplan con las disposiciones del presente Reglamento, y se eviten así perjuicios a la vida silvestre, a la salud, o al bienestar humano.” La norma reglamentaria establece los parámetros fisioquímicos y bacteriológicos que deberán ser analizados en las aguas residuales que se viertan en un cuerpo receptor o alcantarillado sanitario, tanto para efectos de trámites de proyectos, como para la confección de reportes operacionales y, en su artículo 32 autoriza el reuso de aguas residuales cuando se demuestre a satisfacción de la División de Saneamiento Ambiental del Ministerio de Salud y del Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía, que este no deteriorará la calidad de las aguas superficiales y subterráneas. Para la vigilancia de las aguas residuales que se reúsen, las frecuencias mínimas requeridas para la toma de muestras y la realización de los análisis de laboratorio respectivos, el Reglamento las fija “Para la vigilancia de las aguas residuales que se reúsen, las frecuencias mínimas requeridas para la toma de muestras y la realización de los análisis de laboratorio respectivos, serán las indicadas en la Tabla 8 del Apéndice, que es parte integral del presente Reglamento. La División de Saneamiento Ambiental del Ministerio de Salud podrá exigir frecuencias distintas a las de la Tabla 8, en aquellos casos en que la protección de la salud pública o del ambiente así lo requieran. Los reportes operacionales deberán presentarse ante la División de Saneamiento Ambiental del ministerio de Salud en forma trimestral. Aquellos entes generadores que reúsen aguas residuales en períodos discontinuos, deberán presentar tres reportes equidistantes en el tiempo que dure cada ciclo de reúso.” -El resaltado no es del original- El artículo 39 ibíd prohíbe el vertido de lodos provenientes de sistemas de tratamiento de aguas residuales y de tanques sépticos a los cuerpos de agua. Para esos efectos rigen las disposiciones que al respecto emita el Ministerio de Salud. En cuanto a los reportes operacionales, estipula el artículo 43 lo siguiente:

“Los entes generadores que presenten un reporte operacional en el cual uno o más parámetros sobrepasen los límites máximos permisibles establecidos por el presente Reglamento, tendrán dos vías de acción:

a)Si los valores obtenidos en el análisis en cuestión son causados por las variaciones ordinarias del sistema de tratamiento, podrá solicitar a un laboratorio acreditado la repetición del análisis de dichos parámetros, en tres días diferentes distribuidos en un período no mayor a quince días naturales a partir de la fecha del análisis en cuestión. Luego deberá presentar estos resultados como un adéndum al reporte operacional original.
b)Si la variación no es de tipo ordinario, porque así lo considera el ente generador o los resultados del inciso (a) así lo comprueban, entonces el ente generador tendrá un plazo de un mes a partir de la notificación para presentar un cronograma de acciones correctivas, orientado a obtener la calidad de aguas residuales que establece el presente Reglamento.

Dicho cronograma será revisado por la División de Saneamiento Ambiental del Ministerio de Salud, la cual emitirá su criterio al respecto en un plazo no mayor de un mes a partir de su recibo. Esa División tendrá a disposición del público una guía recibido.

Durante el plazo definido por el cronograma aprobado, el ente generador deberá seguir presentando los reportes operacionales normalmente, según las frecuencias establecidas por este Reglamento, anexándoles un avance sobre las correcciones realizadas.

En caso de no cumplir con dicho cronograma y persistir el incumplimiento de lo establecido en este Reglamento, la División de Saneamiento Ambiental del Ministerio de Salud remitirá al Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía la respectiva certificación de calidad del agua, con el fin de aplicar al ente generador las sanciones estipuladas en el artículo 132 de la Ley de Conservación de la Vida Silvestre. Podrá asimismo cancelar el Permiso Sanitario de Funcionamiento y ejecutar el cierre del edificio o establecimiento generador del vertido de las aguas residuales , según las disposiciones de la Ley General de Salud.” - El resaltado en negritas no es del original- Son varias las conclusiones fácilmente extraíbles de la normativa citada, a saber: 1) Todos los habitantes del país son titulares del derecho a disfrutar de un ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado; 2) Corresponde al Estado -incluyendo a las municipalidades como entes encargados de velar por los intereses locales- garantizar, defender y preservar ese derecho; 3) Es de interés público el diseño, financiamiento, ejecución, operación y mantenimiento de las obras requeridas para la recolección, tratamiento y disposición final de las aguas residuales de tipo ordinario generados en los centros urbanos, donde las soluciones individuales para la disposición de las aguas residuales técnica y ambientalmente no son adecuadas; 4) Está prohibido arrojar aguas servidas, aguas negras, desechos o cualquier sustancia contaminante en manantiales, ríos, quebradas, arroyos permanentes o no permanentes, lagos, marismas y embalses naturales o artificiales, esteros, tuberías, pantanos, aguas dulces, salobres o saladas y se sanciona con multa el incumplimiento a esa disposición; 5) Por ley se creó el Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados como ente público encargado de dirigir, fijar políticas, establecer y aplicar normas, realizar y promover el planeamiento, financiamiento y desarrollo y de resolver todo lo relacionado con el suministro de agua potable y recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales líquidos, lo mismo que el aspecto normativo de los sistemas de alcantarillado pluvial en áreas urbanas, para todo el territorio nacional. A ese ente le corresponde, entre otras cosas, dirigir y vigilar todo lo concerniente para proveer a los habitantes de la república de un servicio de agua potable, recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales líquidos y de aguas pluviales en las áreas urbanas. Debe asesorar a los demás organismos del Estado y coordinar las actividades públicas y privadas en todos los asuntos relativos al establecimiento de acueductos y alcantarillados y control de la contaminación de los recursos de agua, siendo obligatoria, en todo caso, su consulta, e inexcusable el cumplimiento de sus recomendaciones; 6) Por imperativo legal compete al Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados administrar y operar directamente los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados en todo el país, aunque los sistemas que actualmente están administrados y operados por las corporaciones municipales podrán seguir a cargo de éstas, pero la Ley Constitutiva de ese ente es muy clara al establecer que ello es así “mientras suministren un servicio eficiente.”; 7) Para garantizar el cumplimiento de la normativa en tutela del medio ambiente y la salud humana, la Ley General de Salud le confiere potestades de imperio a las autoridades de salud con miras a hacer cumplir, incluso por medio de la fuerza pública, las disposiciones y órdenes que emitan en el ejercicio de sus competencias.

V .- Caso concreto. Partiendo de las normas citadas anteriormente y de las conclusiones que de ellas se extraen, encuentra esta Sala que en el caso concreto sí se han producido las infracciones a los derechos fundamentales que acusa los recurrentes. En efecto, de la prueba allegada a los autos y los informes rendidos por los Alcaldes de las Municipalidades de Curridabat y Montes de Oca, así como, así como por la Ministra de Salud, el Director y el Jefe de la Sección de Protección del Ambiente Humano, ambos del Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat se tiene que en el sitio concreto de objeto de este recurso -Calle Siles, detrás de Plaza del Sol-, no existe una red de alcantarillado para la viviendas objeto de la denuncia de la accionante ante el Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat, por lo que los desechos de diversa índole de los habitantes de las viviendas de la denunciada, están siendo descargadas en la Quebrada Ocloro, porque según informan los propios recurridos dichos domicilios fueron construidos hace muchos años sin los permisos correspondiente y sin tomar las medidas pertinentes de salud e higiene. Por su parte, tal como lo informaron los propios recurridos, tal como se pudo corroborar de las visitas en situ del foco del problema, al parecer las aguas residuales de dichas viviendas están siendo evacuadas directamente al río, al igual de aguas con claros rastros de jabón. Acerca de la responsabilidad de las autoridades recurridas en las infracciones constitucionales que se constatan, se realiza un desglose para mayor facilidad de exposición.

V.1) Municipalidad de Curridabat y la Municipalidad de Montes de Oca. El artículo 169 de la Constitución Política estipula que la administración de los intereses y servicios locales en cada cantón, estará a cargo del Gobierno Municipal. Ya en otras oportunidades la Sala ha dicho que esa norma no define ni da mayores elementos de juicio como para extraer en forma definitiva lo que debe entenderse por “intereses y servicios locales”, pues se trata de un concepto jurídico indeterminado como otros que se encuentran en la Constitución, tales como “orden público” o “buenas costumbres”; sin embargo, la Sala ha dicho que “...la potestad atribuida a los gobiernos locales para planificar el desarrollo urbano dentro de los límites de su territorio sí integra el concepto constitucional de "intereses y servicios locales" a que hace referencia el artículo 169 de la Constitución, competencia que fue reconocida por la Ley de Planificación Urbana” (Sentencia número 6706-93). En ese mismo fallo se dijo también, en lo que interesa:

“La planificación urbana, sea la elaboración y puesta en marcha de los planes reguladores, es una función inherente a las municipalidades con exclusión de todo otro ente público, salvo lo dicho en cuanto a las potestades de dirección general atribuidas al Ministerio de Planificación y a la Dirección de Urbanismo.” Corresponde, en consecuencia, a las municipalidades autorizar los desarrollos habitacionales en su territorio, los que en cada caso deberán ser concordados con los planes de desarrollo y mejoras a los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados en el cantón, sin los cuales no será posible ningún desarrollo, por razones técnicas (inexistencia de redes de tuberías, tanques, caudales, etc.) que permitan suministrar el agua a cualquier nuevo desarrollo. Como ente encargado de velar por los intereses locales, le compete verificar que las urbanizaciones cumplan con lo establecido en la normativa urbanística vigente. Resulta así que las corporaciones municipales no pueden desligarse de la problemática nacional urbanística, debido a la responsabilidad constitucional que cada una de ellas tiene de velar por el desarrollo armónico y de servicios, que es parte integrante del concepto “intereses y servicios locales”. En el caso que nos ocupa, la Municipalidad de Curridabat según ha demostrado en autos es el ente que debería ejercer un mayor control por falta de alcantarillado sanitario de las viviendas denunciadas, que provoca que las aguas residuales de las viviendas se depositen de manera libre y sin control en el cause de la quebrada Ocloro. Al respecto argumenta la representación de la Municipalidad recurrida que lo que sucede es que dichas casas en su jurisdicción no están habitadas por sus propietarios, sino que son una especie de cuarterías que han sido alquiladas a personas en su mayoría extranjeros, los cuales viven en condiciones de hacinamiento, pues al acercarse a los domicilios se notan olores de materia fecal. No obstante no les consta que existan rebalses en la quebrada debido a desechos de papel periódico, pues el mismo día en que rinde el presente informe los funcionarios de la Asesoría Legal y de la Dirección de Planeamiento Territorial de la Municipalidad que representan visitaron el lugar pero no fue visible problema alguna de esa clase, sin embargo, indica que las aguas residuales de dichas viviendas están siendo evacuadas directamente al río, a lo que alude responsabilidad al Ministerio de Salud y en lo que se refiere a la zona de protección en donde se están construyendo las viviendas esto es eventualmente responsabilidad -a su juicio- del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía y del Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados quien le corresponde entubar la porción del cause de la quebrada Ocloro que se encuentra en el Cantón de Curridabat. Ahora bien, en el caso de la Municipalidad de Montes de Oca, a pesar de que su Alcalde alega que no tiene competencia territorial para conocer del caso, bajo fe de juramento el Alcalde de Curridabat afirma que parte del sector le corresponde a su jurisdicción, sin embargo no en su totalidad y que hasta el servicio de recolección de basura en la zona es llevado a cabo por la Municipalidad de Montes de Oca, a su vez el propio Ministro de Ambiente y Energía afirma que la quebrada Ocloro es el límite intercantonal y en ambas orillas y el cause esta invadido por edificaciones. En todo caso, la disputa de competencias territoriales entre ambas Municipalidades es un asunto que deberán dirimir entre ellas, por no competer a esta Sala analizar la competencia por territorio de las mismas, por una quebrada que padece de contaminación y que de igual manera tal como consta en el mapa cartográfico aportado como prueba por el propio Alcalde Municipal de Montes de Oca atraviesa a su vez el cantón que dicho funcionario representa. Ahora bien, la Municipalidad de Curridabat, por medio de su Alcalde, tampoco niega la ausencia de tratamiento de las aguas negras y residuales provenientes de las viviendas denunciadas a las que se refiere los gestionantes.

V.2) Ministerio de Salud. Se desprende de la prueba allegada a los autos que las autoridades locales conocen del problema que nos ocupa desde años y han realizado algunas intervenciones tendientes a su solución, siendo que tal como consta en la prueba adjunta y del propio informe rendido bajo fe de juramento -con las consecuencias incluso penales que de ello deriva, tal y como se desprende del artículo 44 de la Ley que rige esta Jurisdicción Constitucional- que e l 10 de diciembre del 2004 se recibió en el Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat el oficio ARSMO 1864-04, mediante el cual se trasladó denuncia interpuesta por la señora Aida Corrales, por problemas de contaminación de la quebrada Ocloro, en el sector de Calle Siles, límite entre los cantones de Montes de Oca y de Curridabat, a la cual como se denota de la propia prueba aportada a continuado todo un proceso durante los años 2004 y hasta el presente, pues se desprende que el 19 de mayo del 2005, los funcionarios del Área Rectora de Salud accionada, realizaron una visita al sitio y se generó el informe ARSC-UPAH-276-2005, donde se describe la situación encontrada, pues el río presenta contaminación prácticamente desde su nacimiento dado que en él se instaló la Urbanización Freses por lo que el problema debía de ser de tratamiento interinstitucional, siendo que mismo día se emitió por parte de la Unidad de Protección al Ambiente Humano de la Región Central Sur el oficio ARSC-UPAH- 277-2005 dirigido a la denunciante Aída Corrales, adjuntando el informe mencionado anteriormente. Posteriormente el 24 de junio del 2005, dirigieron el oficio ARSC-UPAH-379- 2005 a la Alcaldesa de la Municipalidad de Curridabat, donde se le solicita la intervención municipal para que se verifique las condiciones legales de las construcciones ubicadas a orillas del río, por ser esa corporación municipal la encargada de emitir los permisos de construcción respectivos, por lo que el 25 octubre del 2005 se realizó una visita al sitio, en la que participaron autoridades de las Municipalidades de Montes de Oca, y de Curridabat y a su vez del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, con el fin de buscar una solución al problema denunciado, por lo que las partes acordaron rendir un informe del cual el Área Rectora recurrida no recibió copia, situación que le fue informada a la recurrente. Ahora bien, a raíz del reporte por parte del Área de Salud de Montes de Oca de la aparición de dos casos de hepatitis en el sector de Calle Siles, concretamente en la vivienda propiedad de la denunciada Nora Mena Mena, se realizó la intervención por parte del Área Rectora de Curridabat, descrita en el oficio ARSC-VE-043- 2007del 12 de abril del 2007, procediendo -debido a las condiciones encontradas en la vivienda denunciada- a emitir los actos administrativos tanto a los inquilinos como a la propietaria del inmueble, donde se ordena la corrección y eliminación de las deficiencias detectadas, mediante ordenes sanitarias número desde 045-07 a 054-07. no obstante tal como se indica en el oficio ARSC-VE-043-2007, la localización de la propietaria se dificulto dado que los inquilinos daban nombres u números erróneos, hasta que posterioremente, se logra encontrar a un familiar de la misma que labora en la Universidad de Costa Rica, con el cual se le notifica el acto para mejorar las deficiencias físico sanitarias detectadas, siendo que a la fecha en que los funcionarios accionados del Ministerio de Salud rinden su informe en este recurso las ordenes sanitarias emitidas estaban dentro del plazo de vigencia, por lo que no han procedido a emitir una resolución final, hasta tanto el plazo se haya vencido. Sin embargo, como se puede observar, la participación del Ministerio accionado no ha sido celare, ni eficaz, pues han transcurrido más de dos años desde la interposición de la denuncia respectiva y aún están en proceso de aplicar una resolución final en el caso. Como corolario de lo expuesto, se evidencia que la intervención de las autoridades ha podido ser más drástica y eficaz en el tiempo, como en Derecho corresponde según las competencias asignadas a ese Órgano y las potestades de policía que la ley le confiere para hacer cumplir sus órdenes, dejando en los miembros de este Tribunal la percepción de que ha sido la actuación de una Administración que agota su actividad en trámites burocráticos, pero que no soluciona problemas concretos, en detrimento de la salud y el medio ambiente y, por consiguiente, en violación del artículo 50 constitucional, lo que no resulta tolerable para esta Sala y, en tal virtud, también se le encuentra co-responsable, por omisión de no aplicar de manera efectiva una medida en un plazo razonable, teniendo en cuenta el problema de contaminación que se alega.

V.3) Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. Se informa a la Sala por parte de su Presidente Ejecutivo que según inspección realizada en el lugar de los hechos se logró determinar que en el sitio se observaron varias casas en condiciones de hacinamiento, ubicadas contiguo a la quebrada Ocloro, la cual a simple vista muestra condiciones de contaminación por descarga de aguas residuales, por lo que se pudo que no existe una red de alcantarillado sanitario del AyA, ni cajas de registro, ni sifones, elementos propios de un sistema de recolección de aguas residuales de una vivienda, ni tampoco cancelan el servicio de alcantarillado sanitario por no existir red del Instituto que representa. A su vez las casas de habitación denunciadas funcionan solamente con tanques sépticos que no funcionan y drenajes y no así con red del AyA, por lo que en caso de no estar funcionando adecuadamente es por responsabilidad de los propietarios o de los usuarios en no darles el mantenimiento necesario, por lo que el órgano competente, en este caso el Ministerio de Salud deberá girar las órdenes sanitarias correspondientes a los vecinos señalados otorgando un plazo prudencial para que rehabiliten sus tanques sépticos en vía de eliminar las descargas a la quebrada Ocloro. No obstante, el recurrido esta obviando que por imperativo legal es el ente que representa el encargado de dirigir y vigilar todo lo concerniente para proveer a los habitantes de la República de un servicio de agua potable, recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales y de aguas pluviales en las área urbanas, de manera que aunque la misma ley permite que los sistemas que actualmente estén administrados y operados por las corporaciones municipales puedan seguir a cargo de ellas, es así solamente “mientras suministren un servicio eficiente”, que obviamente no es el caso que nos ocupa. Es así como la omisión en el cumplimiento de esa labor de dirección y vigilancia lo que también convierte al Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados en co-responsable de las lesiones constitucionales que causan la estimatoria de este recurso, con sus consecuencias.

V.4) Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. El Ministro del ramo reconoce su competencia como ente rector en materia ambiental a nivel nacional y manifiesta que una vez inspeccionado el sitio objeto de este recurso el mismo día en que rinde su informe ha considerado proceder a asumir el compromiso inmediato de coordinar tanto con la Municipalidad de Montes de Oca, como con la de Curridabat, además de con el Ministerio de Salud una solución conjunta sobre ese problema. Asegura que en el informe de gira número CPI-001-005 se determinó que el sitio se encuentra ocupado por un precario con parte en Montes de Oca y parte en Curridabat, pues el rió Ocloro es el límite intercantonal y en ambas orillas y el cause esta invadido por edificaciones. Agrega que al lado sur de la vía férrea y bajo el nivel de la misma y dentro del cause y del área de protección de la quebrada Ocloro apreciándose del lado este al oeste un caserío compacto sobre y a lo largo de 60 metros de la quebrada, luego el cause se abre por espacio de 50 metros para llegar a una enorme parrilla metálica que instaló el Centro Comercial Plaza del Sol, en donde en la parte entubada se aprecia una acumulación de desechos sólidos de procedencia heterogénea como partes de vehículos, aparatos eléctricos, o materiales de construcción, además se aprecian galerías subterráneas de ratas, y existe el indicio de brotes de dengue y malos olores de excretas. En conclusión, en el citado informe se determinó que en el lugar se aprecia descargas de aguas servidas y la acumulación de desechos sólidos en el cause abierto en donde existen casas de habitación. Ahora bien, considera que a su juicio en el presente caso su trato no debe ser individualizado dictándose medidas sanitarias, sino que se debe atender el asunto de una manera estratégica, creando las condiciones adecuadas para el desarrollo de las políticas sociales, migratorias y de salud públicas entre otras, para generar en los núcleos familiares una política de gestión de residuos y su debido tratamiento y atención del problema. En síntesis, a pesar del expreso reconocimiento del problema por parte del ente rector en materia ambiental a nivel nacional, lo cierto es que no indica que se haya tomado medida alguna en concreto capaz de detener a corto plazo el deterioro ambiental que se está verificando en la quebrada Ocloro y que es objeto de esta acción de amparo, lo que co-responsabiliza a ese Ministerio en la infracción a los derechos fundamentales que aquí se constata.

VI .- Conclusión. A la luz de las consideraciones efectuadas con fundamento en la prueba allegada a los autos, estima la Sala que ninguna de las instituciones recurridas queda exenta de responsabilidad en las violaciones constitucionales verificadas en detrimento a un medio ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado pues, por omisión, o lentitud de acción, todas han incumplido un expreso mandato constitucional. No es competencia de esta Sala determinar, técnicamente, el tipo y la magnitud de contaminación que soporta la quebrada Ocloro y las comunidades aledañas, así como tampoco las medidas que deban tomarse para solucionar el problema, pero de la prueba analizada sí se logra determinar que esa contaminación se está produciendo, en clara violación del derecho de todos a disfrutar de un medio ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado por lo que procede la estimatoria del recurso. La responsabilidad a la que se ha hecho alusión surge, primordialmente, del mero hecho de tolerar y no ejecutar en tiempo eficaz las medidas que el Ordenamiento Jurídico provee para remediar una situación en la que se pone en peligro la salud humana y el derecho a gozar de un medio sano y ecológicamente equilibrado que reconoce el artículo 50 de nuestra Constitución Política, de manea que las instituciones estatales involucradas no pueden posponer la solución a un problema que compromete la salud de las personas, mientras se enfrascan en una disputa para decidir cuál es la culpable del problema o en qué proporción lo son o hasta el competente a nivel territorial para atenderlo. Sobre la obligación del Estado de resguardar el derecho a la salud, la Sala se ha pronunciado en múltiples ocasiones, por lo que no viene al caso aquí detallar de nuevo la posición del Tribunal (sentencias No. 2728-91, 3891-93 y 4504-93, entre muchas otras). Es así como, en síntesis, le cabe responsabilidad, en primer lugar, a las Municipalidades de Curridabat y Montes de Oca, por ser los entes que deben corroborar que exista un verdadero alcantarillado sanitario en la zona en disputa, por lo cual ante esta omisión se esta demostrando una total ineficiencia, puesto que se constata una situación caótica que viene arrastrándose desde hace muchos años. En segundo lugar, el Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, por ser el ente creado por ley para dirigir y vigilar todo lo concerniente para proveer a los habitantes de la república de un servicio de recolección y evacuación de aguas negras y residuos industriales líquidos y de aguas pluviales en las áreas urbanas, al que le compete administrar y operar directamente los sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados en todo el país, sin que sea de recibo el argumento de que en el caso concreto no le atañe responsabilidad por tratarse de un asunto que a juicio del presidente Ejecutivo le corresponde ventilar a las Municipalidades accionadas y principalmente el Ministerio de Salud, pues claramente dice la ley que esa situación se puede mantener sólo mientras las corporaciones municipales suministren un servicio eficiente, que no es el caso que aquí se verifica. En cuanto al Ministerio de Salud, por ser el rector en materia de salud en el país, el cual, conocedor también desde hace años desde el Área Rectora de Salud de Curridabat de la falta de tratamiento de las aguas negras y residuales que acusa la amparada, han sido ineficientes y poco celeres a la hora de tomar decisiones, pues transcurrieron casi dos años para que impusieran una medida sanitaria contra los habitantes de las viviendas denunciadas, sin haberse dictado de manera eficiente una resolución final en este caso, por lo que no han efectuado de manera correcta las vías que el ordenamiento jurídico le otorga, cual Administración que no actúa a tiempo prudencial, en el marco de sus competencias, para cumplir con los cometidos que legal y constitucionalmente le fueron encomendados. Finalmente, el Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía no ha emprendido acciones tendientes al cumplimiento de sus funciones por lo que tampoco sus acciones han sido oportunas, coadyuvante por omisión también en la consumación de las infracciones constitucionales que ocasionan la estimatoria de este recurso, ya que es evidente que el daño ambiental que soporta la quebrada Ocloro la ha convertido en un sitio no apto para la vivienda y difícilmente para alguna actividad productiva.”

TopicsTemas

Concept anchorsAnclajes conceptuales

Constitución Política Art. 50
Ley Orgánica del Ambiente Art. 28
Ley Orgánica del Ambiente Art. 65
Ley General de Salud Art. 285
Ley General de Salud Art. 288
Ley de Conservación de Vida Silvestre Art. 132
Ley Constitutiva del AyA
Constitución Política Art. 169

Spanish key termsTérminos clave en español

State's failure to remedy Quebrada Ocloro contamination violates right to healthy environmentOmisión estatal en saneamiento de la Quebrada Ocloro viola derecho a ambiente sano

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