SLC argues for sustainable, clean energy infrastructure post-hurricanes
May 20, 2026 - Southern Legal Counsel, Inc., LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico have filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in a case with broad implications for the energy future of hurricane-prone areas such as Florida.
Comité Diálogo Ambiental, Inc., et al. v. Federal Emergency Management Agency, et al., which is before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, challenges the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) environmental assessments for rebuilding Puerto Rico’s energy infrastructure after hurricanes.
“FEMA is spending $12 billion of public money to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid, but they used a bureaucratic shortcut to bypass a full, deep environmental and social study,” said SLC attorney Roberto Cruz. “Instead of taking a hard look at how to build a clean, modern system, they are rushing to patch up the exact same obsolete, oil-burning, centralized system that fails every time a major storm hits. They chose bureaucratic speed over a safe and sustainable energy future.”
The brief filed by the national civil rights organizations argues that FEMA relied on a shorter Programmatic Environmental Assessment and less detailed environmental review process instead of conducting the more comprehensive study required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
It is accompanied by a research addendum by expert witness Professor Nadia B. Ahmad, professor of law at Barry University, that shows that FEMA’s allocation of funds heavily favors corporate contractors over households. Most shocking of all, Professor Ahmad’s data revealed that despite a staggering $26.8 billion in documented flood losses in Puerto Rico, FEMA only authorized direct household assistance in a mere 1.6% of flood declarations.
Because FEMA is rushing, four out of every five disaster dollars are funneled straight to
massive corporate contractors to repair old, vulnerable transmission lines,” he said. “When the next hurricane strikes, that family’s power will go out for months all over again, and the air they breathe will remain toxic. If FEMA had listened to the community, that money could have gone toward rooftop solar and local microgrids, which keep a household's lights and medical equipment running even when the main grid collapses.”
In addition, the data show disproportionate environmental and public health harms to low-income communities living near fossil fuel infrastructure in southeastern Puerto Rico, along with the exclusion of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities from FEMA’s National Risk Index data systems.
“They are literally blank spaces on the federal map,” Cruz said. “Imagine a family living in a rural mountain town or right next to an oil-burning power plant in southeastern Puerto Rico. Under FEMA’s top-down approach, that family is completely invisible, and their needs are therefore not being taken into account.”
Cruz said the lawsuit is trying to force the federal government to hit the brakes and listen to the people who actually have to live with these decisions.
“We are asking the court to order a comprehensive, transparent Environmental Impact Statement. This isn't about delaying aid; it's about legally mandating that FEMA put community-driven data over corporate convenience, allowing Puerto Ricans to use federal
funds to build a self-determined, climate-resilient future.”
The brief warns that if FEMA is allowed to avoid a full environmental review in Puerto Rico, it could set a nationwide precedent allowing federal agencies to move forward with major disaster recovery projects without fully considering the impact on vulnerable communities.