Semarnat Denies Permit for Beach Restoration Project in Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Department (Semarnat) has denied an environmental impact permit for a beach improvement project proposed in front of the Marina El Cid hotel and Lot 1 in Puerto Morelos, the agency said in a resolution.

The application was filed by Inmobiliaria Marítima Dolores and was rejected in administrative resolution SRA/DGIRA/DG-06912-26, issued after nearly four years of review of file 23QR2022T0057. Officials cited Article 35 of the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, which allows denial when a project conflicts with applicable legal provisions.

What the project proposed

The plan, titled “Beach Improvement at Hotel El Cid and Lot 1,” sought to rebuild sand along 570 meters of shoreline in front of the Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort and another 190 meters in front of Lot 1, a guest house, both in Puerto Morelos. The work would have taken place in the federal maritime-terrestrial zone and the adjoining marine area.

It treated a 523,000-square-meter stretch of seabed in front of the property as a sand bank, including the navigation channel serving the fiscal pier of the Quintana Roo Port Administration (APIQROO). The company planned to dredge and relocate 20,000 cubic meters of sand using a suction pump — 18,000 cubic meters to fill eroded areas and 2,000 for geotubes.

The proposal also called for:

• A temporary sand storage area of more than 15,000 square meters on the beach to dry the dredged material
• Dune restoration using geotextile tubes and native replanting
• Between 10 and 13 wave attenuators installed parallel to the coast
• Relocation of loose rock and repairs to three existing groynes
• Posts for hammocks and a 7,000-square-meter artificial reef support zone with two floating platforms

The net area to be disturbed was 41,305 square meters in front of the hotel and 4,370 square meters in front of Lot 1.

Why the permit was denied

The agency cited three central findings. First, the company began construction before obtaining a permit. Using Google Earth satellite imagery from April 2026 and its own Geographic Information System, the agency’s directorate documented that continuous wave attenuators had already been built offshore, even though the site was supposed to remain untouched until authorization was granted. That violated the preventive principle of environmental review.

Second, the company did not prove that the dredging zone was free of seagrass. It reported only isolated patches of Syringodium filiforme and Thalassia testudinum, two species listed as threatened and subject to special protection under Mexican standard NOM-059. However, it submitted no video transects or sufficient sampling, and the agency holds 2018 mapping that records seagrass communities within the polygon. Dredging would have directly affected those species.

Third, the continuous attenuators in front of the beach would block sea turtles from reaching a nesting area. The General Directorate for Wildlife warned that the project contained no measures to prevent or mitigate impacts on sea turtles and mangroves, both at-risk species.

Work is barred, with sanctions possible

The resolution closes the file as a concluded matter and warns the company that it cannot carry out any construction, operation or maintenance on the project. If it proceeds, it will face sanctions and the case will be referred to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa), which has already been notified to conduct inspections.

The ruling leaves the door open for the applicant to file again, but only as a manifestación de impacto ambiental in its particular modality, including restoration measures for damage already caused and with the company covering the costs of that impact.