Senado: OGPe/DRNA/JP e Cabo Rojo condicionam Esencia; Betances sem capacidade

On September 1, 2026, in the same inquiry day under S.R. 9 and 459, the Senate Committee on Innovation, Reform and Appointments heard OGPe, DNER, the Planning Board and the Municipality of Cabo Rojo on Esencia. This note anchors the Senate release that afternoon; it does not confuse municipal endorsement with a building permit.

OGPe (Edmée Zeidan Cuebas) denied preferential treatment, produced the EIS and Location Consultation files, and stressed those determinations are not by themselves a building permit. DNER (Waldemar Quiles Pérez) detailed the maritime-terrestrial zone demarcation (certification May 12, 2025; active challenge complaint 26-222-AG) and said that if the proponent scientifically shows withdrawing ~1.5 million gallons per day will not harm aquifers or cause saltwater intrusion, it would have a “ministerial duty” to grant a franchise — conditioned on a Saltwater Intrusion Mitigation Plan. AAA already certified Betances lacks design capacity for ~1,253,306 gallons per day.

The Planning Board clarified it does not handle environmental permits; the final EIS (2024-579429-DIA-300042) was approved by OGPe on December 23, 2025. Mayor Jorge Morales Wiscovitch conditioned the municipal endorsement (expires Oct 27, 2026): water/power self-sufficiency “cannot be accepted solely because the developer says so”; the endorsement is void if AAA warns of low pressure unless improvement or demonstrated independence. Conditioned endorsement ≠ DNER franchise; EIS ≠ construction permit.

Primary: Senate 1 Sep 2026.

Fonte: Senado de Puerto Rico. https://www.senado.pr.gov/ogpe-drna-junta-de-planificacin-y-municipio-de-cabo-rojo-comparecen-ante-el-senado-por-el-proyecto-esencia