Every regulated business in Puerto Rico operates inside overlapping jurisdictions: Commonwealth agencies, federal regulators, and the statutory overlay of Puerto Rico's administrative procedure law. When an agency opens an investigation, initiates a proceeding, or issues a notice of violation, the deadline to respond is typically short, the evidentiary record forms at the administrative stage, and the outcome at that level determines what is possible on appeal. Companies that treat agency proceedings as procedural formalities routinely find themselves foreclosed on appeal from arguments they never preserved. The agency stage is where the case is won or lost.

Puerto Rico's dual-jurisdiction structure adds a second layer: Commonwealth statutes govern certain sectors while federal law and federal agencies hold concurrent or superseding authority in others. A company entering Puerto Rico's energy market answers to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at the same time. A developer may need coordinated approvals from the Office of Permits Management (OGPe), the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before breaking ground. A company receiving federal disaster recovery funds operates under 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Guidance) and remains subject to federal audit regardless of which Commonwealth agency disbursed the award. Knowing which rules apply is the easy part. The work is applying them in the right sequence, before the right body, at the right time.

Maceira Zayas represents private companies, public entities, developers, and regulated professionals before Puerto Rico and federal agencies across the full administrative lifecycle: pre-application strategy, licensing, compliance program development, agency investigations, enforcement defense, administrative hearings, and judicial review under Puerto Rico's Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (Act 38-2017, 3 L.P.R.A. § 9601 et seq.) and the federal Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq.).

The firm appears regularly before the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB); the Negociado de Telecomunicaciones (NET) of the Public Service Regulatory Board; the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO); the Puerto Rico Treasury Department (Hacienda); the Office of Permits Management (OGPe); the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC); the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA); the Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority (PRASA); the Puerto Rico Ports Authority; and professional licensing boards across regulated industries. At the federal level, the firm handles matters before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with CDBG-DR programs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Maceira Zayas (MZLS) represents clients before Commonwealth agencies and their federal counterparts, with offices in San Juan and Washington, D.C.

The team includes Hon. Edgardo Rivera García, who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 2010 to 2024, and Jorge Alexis Meléndez Rivera, an attorney and licensed professional engineer who directs the firm's environmental and construction law practice.

Act 38-2017, Puerto Rico's Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (3 L.P.R.A. § 9601 et seq.), governs how Commonwealth agencies adopt regulations, conduct adjudicative hearings, issue final orders, and face judicial review. A party adversely affected by a final agency decision generally has 30 days from notification to seek review before the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals. Errors of law receive de novo review; factual findings receive deference when supported by substantial evidence. The record is the case. Arguments and evidence not presented to the agency are unavailable on appeal.

The deference calculus changed in 2025. In Vázquez y Torres v. Consejo de Titulares, 2025 TSPR 56, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court adopted the framework of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and ended automatic judicial deference to agencies' legal interpretations. Courts now determine independently what the law means, including questions of agency jurisdiction, penalty authority, and the scope of licensing conditions. Challenges to agency legal conclusions that previously faced deference now receive full independent review. For appellate representation following an adverse agency decision, see the firm's Appellate Practice group.

2 C.F.R. Part 200, the Uniform Guidance, sets the federal requirements for recipients and subrecipients of federal financial assistance. In Puerto Rico that includes FEMA Public Assistance funds under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.), HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) allocations, and Department of Energy infrastructure awards. The regulation governs procurement standards, cost allowability, audit obligations under the Single Audit Act for entities expending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year, and subrecipient monitoring. Non-compliance carries real consequences: cost disallowances, repayment demands, suspension of award activities, and debarment from future federal funding. Maceira Zayas (MZLS) advises recipients and subrecipients on procurement compliance, audit response, and subrecipient monitoring programs. For related procurement counsel, see the firm's Government Contracts & Procurement group.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions before authorizing, funding, or carrying them out. In Puerto Rico, NEPA applies whenever a project has a federal nexus: federal funding, a federal permit such as a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or location on federal land. Review proceeds through an Environmental Assessment or, for actions with potentially significant effects, an Environmental Impact Statement, on the deadlines and page limits Congress wrote into NEPA in 2023. The procedural ground shifted in 2025 and 2026: CEQ rescinded its government-wide NEPA regulations, effective January 8, 2026, and each federal agency now conducts review under its own implementing procedures. The Supreme Court's decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County (2025) gives agencies substantial deference over the scope of review and limits the effects an agency must study to those close in time and place to the project. Projects funded through FEMA, HUD, or DOE cannot obligate federal funds until NEPA review concludes, so early identification of the lead agency and its review pathway is a schedule-critical task.