House commission presses Agriculture on ownership, condition and funding for Arroyo fishing village

The House of Representatives' Southern Commission held a public hearing on the long‑running dispute over the Casa del Pescador (the new "villa pesquera") in Arroyo and pressed Department of Agriculture officials for documents and a path to resolve ownership, repairs and use.

The commission convened the hearing under Resolution 103 to examine why the new fishing‑village building built around 2014 remains closed and why fishermen have not been able to use the ramp, pier and facilities the municipality and other agencies paid to build. Licenciado Edison Negrón Ocasio appeared representing the Department of Agriculture; Ricardo Rivera Amíl, who identified himself as an "ayudante especial del secretario de agricultura" and the department official handling fisheries matters, also testified.

The department told the commission the dispute traces to a 2013–2014 permuta (land‑swap) between the Municipality of Arroyo and the Department of Agriculture after the dissolution of the old CODREMAR corporation, and to subsequent construction and legal claims. Edison Negrón summarized the administrative and judicial history, including a 2016 civil proceeding (case cited in testimony as GPE‑2016‑0066) in which the Association of Pescadores Coral Marín Inc. and the municipality brought competing claims over possession and use.

Ricardo Rivera said the new facility was completed around 2014 and that the department did not contribute cash for construction but transferred the demolished building’s footprint as part of the permuta. Rivera told the commission the facility has been closed since 2014 and described its condition as "pésimas." He said equipment that had belonged to fishermen was lost, stolen or damaged while stored at the site.

When asked who holds legal title to the property, Rivera replied repeatedly, "No se sabe," and explained that a recorded, registrable deed has not been located; he said the municipality submitted a municipal resolution authorizing a permuta but the department's notaries found registration deficiencies that could block a clean transfer at the Property Registry. The department's lawyers and notaries, he said, raised concerns about whether the prior secretary of agriculture had the statutory authority to accept and register the transfer.

Witnesses and department officials described a complicated sequence of administrative decisions, partial or provisional relocations of fishermen to temporary 'vagones' (trailers) and a later court settlement that required fishermen to move from temporary units into the new building. The department said the association later sued and sought damages, and that some claims were paused under Puerto Rico's PROMESA process and related legal steps.

Rivera and Negrón outlined related funding and technical constraints: the department reported about $26 million in obligated federal funds across coastal fishing facilities, cited HUD and FEMA sources, and described a preliminary contractor estimate from several years ago of roughly $38,000 to correct some structural items (a figure Rivera said would need updating). Rivera also said the original construction cost figure reported in testimony was "cerca de doscientos cincuenta mil dólares," adding that additional associated costs (temporary units, court costs, extended contracts) mean the total public investment is materially higher.

Rivera described federal grant work the department led after Hurricanes María and Fiona, and said the agency used CARES and other appropriations to pay hundreds of qualifying fishermen: "en el Care 1 impactamos seiscientos ochenta y tres pescadores y cuatrocientos ochenta y algo en el segundo," and that about 150 applications were rejected for not meeting program rules. Rivera said the department believes there remains about $1,056,000 in a pending federal proposal (a leftover or requested reallocation) but that those funds are subject to federal approval and are not "lost."

Commission members raised technical problems that complicate reuse of the building: the site floods when it rains, the structure lacks suitable electrical and sanitation systems for food‑safety equipment, and neighbors would be affected by noise if industrial gear were installed next to a residential urbanization. Rivera said those constraints could make upgrading the building for full processing operation more expensive than building a new, functionally designed facility; he noted the department is evaluating alternative solutions including modular trailer systems that meet sanitary requirements.

The hearing produced several follow‑up directives from the commission. The commission ordered the Department of Agriculture to provide an administrative order and supporting documents referenced in testimony and asked the agency to deliver a detailed breakdown of FEMA funds and other federally obligated money for the southern region within five business days (excluding the coming week identified as a government holiday). The president of the commission also said the panel will schedule a new hearing and will convene a working meeting that includes the Municipality of Arroyo, the Department of Agriculture and the Asociación de Pescadores Coral Marín to seek a negotiated agreement over title, use and repairs.

The commission left on the record that it will summon the mayor of Arroyo and the contractor who built the seafront work for further documentation of contracts and invoices. The panel also asked the department to deliver the regulatory materials and the list of the region’s fishing facilities and their current administrative obligations.

The hearing closed with a commitment to set a follow‑up meeting to try to reach a three‑party agreement (municipality, department and fishermen’s association) that could be presented to the court to resolve outstanding claims and permit repairs or re‑assignment of the property. The commission recessed at 11:03 a.m.