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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A fund to compensate Puerto Rico for damages from a 1994 oil spill will be used to build an artificial reef, create a shoreline nature reserve and restore the walls of a Spanish colonial fort, trustees said Sunday.
Nearly $10 million for restoration projects was included in a settlement with those responsible for a barge that ran aground off the coast of San Juan, spilling 750,000 gallons of heavy oil. For weeks, the oil slick stained beaches and lagoons around the capital's reef-fringed coast.
Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila said the projects mark a turning point in the island's recovery.
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