to ensure the existence of its dirty fuels. They seem to be using their standard strategy in Puerto Rico as well: to act quickly and with a minimum amount of review before the opposition has time to organize and bring out the truth." The Government, on the other hand, contends that the only forest affected will be the Bosque de Vega Baja (English: Vega Baja Forest) where a 3.9-mile long trench will be carved. It also stated that the project will require the removal of 1.1 million cubic meters of land. The ex-head of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, Daniel Pagan Rosa, added that only one endangered species, the guabairo, will be affect by the construction of the pipeline. Pagan Rosa also added that the use of a Horizontal Directional Drilling will allow the construction of the pipeline "60 feet below the bottom of rivers." However, during an official interview in Ponce on 22 March 2011, the Government admitted it did not have an erosion and landslide control plan. Cost of electricity The government's projections of cost reduction for consumers are also under fire. AEE claims that there will be a 30% reduction in costs for electricity consumption. However, independent analysts estimate that this figure has been grossly exaggerated and that the real reduction in cost will be close to 18%, much, if not all of which, will be cancelled out by market fluctuations in the price of gas and by the government's need to cover the cost of construction of the project. Some opponents, such as Puerto Rican PNP Senator Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez, argue that the project will not meet its primary objective of reducing electric rates to the Puerto Rican consumer: "One of the arguments of the Autoridad [de Energia Electrica] is that the cost of a kWh in Puerto Rico is 22 cents compared to the 22 coents cost in the United States. But if we consider what they plan to offer in the electric bill, we will see a reduction of 15 percent, which means that – instead of paying 22 cents per kWh – we will be paying 18 or 19 cents and that is totally ineffective, it is not competitive." The government's own data, from reports to the Puerto Rico electric company's to its stockholders, have confirmed that the pipeline will not reduce consumers electric bills. Still, the government defends the project