Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources, Waldemar Quiles Pérez, says he is concerned about the climate crisis. Yet in the nine months since he assumed office, he has not found time to meet with the Committee of Experts and Advisors on Climate Change (CEACC).
Speaking on the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo’s radio program Agenda Propia (Radio Isla 1320 AM, YouTube), Quiles added that he does not know when the three vacant seats on the committee will be filled, could not say who Gov. Jenniffer González has designated to review those appointments, and was unaware of whether the process had even begun. He also admitted that he does not know the procedure for filling those vacancies, which, by law, must be occupied by scientists.
“My understanding is that they’re appointed and then confirmed,” Quiles said. “I don’t know the entire process; I have to be honest.”
Two scientists on the committee told the CPI last week that, in addition to not being given a single dollar to carry out their responsibilities, the CEACC has not convened since the new administration took office in January, mainly due to the absence of agency heads.
Says There’s No Money, but Doesn’t Request Funds
Quiles said his agency had its budget cut by $76 million for the current fiscal year because Puerto Rico is living through “austerity times,” forcing the government to “plow with the oxen we have.”
“We don’t have the budget for the committee,” he said.
But the Office of Management and Budget (OGP, in Spanish) stated in testimony before the Senate that it is the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources’ (DRNA, in Spanish) responsibility to request appropriations for its programs and initiatives, including the CEACC. At the time of its communication to the Legislature, OGP reported it had not received any request from the department for the funds needed for the committee to operate.
In contrast with Quiles’s remarks on Agenda Propia, his own agency told OGP, also before the Senate, that it had not requested funding for the committee because Act 33 of 2019 does not specify a minimum amount.
Meanwhile, the DRNA has awarded $611,999 this year in contracts to five companies for event coordination, communications consulting, and graphic arts. That amount exceeds the $500,000 that Puerto Rico’s Legislature has suggested as a fixed annual budget for the CEACC through a measure introduced by Senators Thomas Rivera Schatz and Ada Álvarez Conde. The bipartisan bill, filed earlier this year, has not yet been approved.
Meetings Stalled by Scheduling Conflicts
Regarding the committee’s failure to meet over the past nine months, Quiles said it was due to scheduling conflicts among officials.
“It’s basically been because of scheduling problems,” he said. “There have been occasions when the committee has been convened, but members were absent. Just as I haven’t been able to attend, neither has the DDEC secretary nor the president of the University of Puerto Rico.”
He added that, even without committee meetings, the DRNA has been involved in climate crisis adaptation and mitigation efforts, including funding projects for coastal restoration and protection.
No Clarity on Vacant Seats
Under Act 33 of 2019, which created the CEACC, any decision by the committee must be approved by a majority with at least five of its nine members present.
The head of the Natural and Environmental Resources Department acknowledged that he is not aware of the status of the evaluation process for candidates to fill the CEACC’s three vacant seats, which were left open after the resignations of Maritza Barreto Orta, Pablo Méndez Lázaro, and Roy Torbert. The three were among the six scientists appointed as permanent members of the committee, alongside Ada Monzón, Rafael Méndez Tejeda, and Carl Axel Soderberg, who remain active.
The official did not specify whom the Governor has tasked with reviewing potential nominees at La Fortaleza, the governor’s mansion.
“The governor is extremely busy with many issues,” Quiles told CPI. “The governor must have someone working on that,” was all he said.
Act 33 of 2019 requires the governor to fill the three scientific vacancies on the CEACC. The appointments must be approved by both the House and Senate.
Neglect Over XUVO Contracts
Quiles also stated that his agency has urged XUVO Technologies, Inc. to complete the online permitting platform it was contracted to build in 2019, which remains undone. Given the years that have passed without the platform becoming operational, Comptroller Yesmín Valdivieso has said the DRNA should have launched a new bidding process.
Under the contract, XUVO charges the agency a fee for every license or permit issued through the platform. In 2021, the Office of the Inspector General issued a report warning that the contract lacked legally required certifications, included burdensome clauses for the Puerto Rican government, and had not undergone a proper cost-effectiveness analysis.
“I need that platform they’re working on,” Quiles said. “It’s a platform the department needs to speed up processes that are currently done by hand.”
He added that what remains incomplete is a “technical matter, which I don’t have the details on.”
When the CPI asked if the DRNA had set a deadline for the company to finish the contracted work that is still pending, Quiles replied that he could not remember.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
The man is an idiot. A governors puppet
Es muy bueno saber que esta administración está funcionando como una máquina bien engrasada al abordar los problemas críticos del cambio climático – que afectan desproporcionadamente a esta isla y a las comunidades costeras. Las importantes festividades de su agencia están bien decoradas y ofrecen el menú más reciente sobre especies en peligro de extinción y claramente, si alguien lo mencionó, no le da vergüenza declarar su total ignorancia