San Antonio Environmental Tribunal Rules in Favor of Residents, Orders Ministry of Environment to Reassess Urban Wetland Delimitation

Original article: San Antonio: Tribunal Ambiental da la razón a vecinos y ordena al Ministerio de Medioambiente revisar de nuevo la delimitación del humedal urbano Ojos de Mar

The Second Environmental Tribunal upheld the complaints filed by residents of San Antonio against the Ministry of Environment’s decision that declared the Urban Wetland System of Lagunas de Llolleo Ojos de Mar. The Tribunal ordered the administrative procedure to be reverted to the stage of creating a new Technical Sheet that considers the court’s ruling for the issuance of a new resolution.

The Tribunal determined that the Ministry did not adequately consider the essential sustainability criteria in delimiting the urban wetland and failed to properly apply the delineation criteria for the wetland.

The ruling notes the presence of «deficiencies concerning the protection of ecological characteristics and the functioning of the wetland, along with the maintenance of its hydrological regime.»

Additionally, it highlighted that the environmental authority «dismissed evidence presented by indigenous associations regarding the social dimension, despite the fact that this aspect must be analyzed for sustainability criteria related to the rational use of the wetland.»

The Tribunal criticized the Ministry’s decision to postpone the consideration of the previously mentioned criteria to future regulations in other instruments, asserting that, according to «repeated jurisprudence,» these factors must be considered ab initio in the delimitation process of the wetland.

«This does not negate the importance of municipal ordinances and other instruments but emphasizes that they cannot replace the obligation of the MMA to consider minimum sustainability criteria in the urban wetland delimitation stage,» the ruling states.

The environmental ruling also concludes that the contested resolution has a legal flaw, «due to a lack of the necessary reasoning required by Article 41, fourth paragraph, of Law No. 19,880, as it did not properly apply the wetland delimitation criteria established in Article 8(d) of the Regulations.»

Furthermore, the ruling adds, «considering that the Ministry excluded certain sectors proposed by the Municipality of San Antonio from the declaration of urban wetland without conducting a proper characterization to verify or dismiss the delimitation criteria regarding the presence of hydrophytic vegetation and poorly drained or undrained soils.»

It also points to errors made by the Ministry in the application of the urban wetland concept, according to regulatory definitions.

«Based on all of the above, the complaints of the petitioners will be upheld,» the tribunal concludes.

Finally, the ruling clarifies that during the time «until a new exempt resolution concludes the procedure, any project or activity that could alter the wetland System of Lagunas de Llolleo Ojos de Mar must be conducted in accordance with applicable legal provisions for environmental protection, especially those outlined in Article 10, letter s) of Law No. 19,300. This means it will have to undergo the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) prior to its execution, if applicable.»

It is important to remember that this case originated from a process led by the Tribunal between November 2021 and November 2023, in which a group of residents and the Municipality of San Antonio challenged the Ministry’s decision that previously rejected the municipality’s request to declare the urban wetland.

These legal actions culminated when the Tribunal approved, in November 2023, the terms of a settlement reached by the parties.

As the first action of this agreement, the Ministry of Environment revoked the resolution that denied the wetland declaration, reverting the administrative process to the technical analysis stage.

Thus, in April 2024, following a new review of the evidence, the Ministry declared the Urban Wetland System of Lagunas de Llolleo Ojos de Mar, which was subsequently challenged by two groups of residents and the Municipality of San Antonio due to their dissatisfaction with the size of the area classified as urban wetland, which was smaller than requested.

On May 21, 2025, the Municipality of San Antonio withdrew its claim, leaving only the processing of claims from the two groups of residents ongoing.

For more details on this case, click HERE.

We will continue to provide updates.