CRISIS/FEMA/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/PUERTO RICO: “Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Roselló has asked the Justice Department to investigate the island’s public electric utility after federal agents said they found large quantities of critical rebuilding materials stored in a warehouse owned by the public utility.
On Saturday [1-6-18], employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered the warehouse near San Juan, took possession of the materials, and began distributing them to contractors working to rebuild the island’s flattened power grid, according to a statement from the Army Corps. Details of the operation were first reported by The Intercept.
Among the materials found were transformers and metal sleeves that have been in short supply since Hurricane Maria devastated the island and its electrical grid in September…
The governor said he asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the power utility, known as PREPA, broke any laws or was otherwise negligent in the way it procured or stored the materials…
The Army Corps of Engineers said that in an effort to accelerate repairs, more than 1,500 utility workers and support staff from utility companies across the U.S. will arrive in Puerto Rico in January. Contractors working with the Army Corps will bring an additional 1,000 people.”
-Adrian Florido and Marisa Peñaloza, “Puerto Rico Governor Asks DOJ To Investigate Island’s Public Power Utility,” NPR, Jan. 11, 2018 04:57pm