Puerto Rico Incinerator Firm Charged with Clean Air Violations

A federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, returned an indictment on May 1, 2026, charging Ramon Plaza-Gregory, Ileana Cortes-Gonzalez, and Mo-Na-Co Biomedical & Environmental Corp. with five Clean Air Act violations and conspiracy to violate the act, stemming from emissions at the company's commercial incinerator in Aguadilla.

The alleged violations affect air quality in Aguadilla, a municipality on Puerto Rico's northwest coast with about 50,000 residents, per U.S. Census data. The incinerator, owned by Plaza-Gregory and operated by both defendants, processed biomedical and environmental waste, potentially exposing local communities to pollutants without required controls, according to the Justice Department release.

Before the indictment, the incinerator operated under presumed compliance with Clean Air Act standards for emissions monitoring and control. The charges now initiate federal criminal proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, shifting the operation to face potential shutdown or remediation orders upon conviction, with no specific trial date set in the release.

Conviction under the Clean Air Act could trigger fines up to $250,000 per violation for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, along with up to five years imprisonment per count, per the statute. The case advances to pretrial proceedings, requiring the defendants to appear and respond, while the Environmental Protection Agency may impose parallel civil penalties or operational restrictions.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division will handle the case, potentially leading to asset forfeiture if linked to the conspiracy.

The indictment follows a pattern of Clean Air Act enforcement in U.S. territories, including a 2024 case against a Puerto Rico power plant for similar emissions violations, per Justice Department records. Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1990 to strengthen penalties for such conspiracies, applying uniformly to states and territories.