Our First Class Action Lawsuit Takes on Trump Administration to Get Communities the Funding They’re Owed

If a chemical company wants to build a plant in your neighborhood, you deserve a say in that project and a heads-up. You probably want to know if it’s a health risk to you and your family. But too often, the people harmed the most by air pollution are the last to know about these projects and have the least input.

In Texas, a group called Air Alliance Houston is fighting to make sure members of the public know about permitting decisions that could harm their health. Its job got harder when the Trump administration terminated a grant program that would have helped it to expand its mission.

Now Earthjustice is challenging that move on behalf of Air Alliance Houston and other nonprofit groups that have been stiffed by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are suing the administration for unlawfully terminating $3 billion in EPA grant programs designed to fund public health and community resilience initiatives in all 50 states.

Citizens hold signs showing their opposition to a proposed Julpit Inc. concrete crushing facility on Aug 20, 2024 during a public forum in Rosharon, Texas, south of Houston. (Kirk Sides / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Last year, Air Alliance Houston applied for the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program (ECJP) grants created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The program invested $3 billion in federal funding to support the communities hit hardest by pollution and climate change. The program funds community-based nonprofits, tribes, local governments, and higher education institutions in a variety of projects that seek to improve Americans’ health and the environment.

Air Alliance Houston received a $3 million Community Change Grant to do just that. Over three years, the grant was going to help address decades of underfunding in frontline communities and activate community voices in the public permitting process. Specifically, the grant was intended to expand the group’s “AirMail” public alert system, which notifies community members when a polluting project is proposed within a certain radius of their neighborhood, what the health impacts might be, and how they can speak up about the project.

“This was not an easy grant to get,” says Jennifer Hadayia, Air Alliance Houston’s Executive Director. “This was a rigorous process. We jumped numerous planning, grant-writing, compliance, and fiscal hoops  [to be selected for it].

“We [applied] for a reason,” she adds. “We live in these communities. We have been directly affected by the health impacts of air pollution. That is true for all of the people and partners included on this grant.”

Air Alliance Houston’s public alert system had been piloted successfully in Houston/Harris County, and some other parts of Texas since 2022. With the new funding, the organization planned to expand to a total of 10 Texas Gulf Coast counties — an effort called AirMail Gulf Coast.

But then, the Trump administration’s EPA eliminated all environmental justice offices and “equity-related” grant programs, including the ECJP grant that funded the AirMail program’s expansion. With the grant terminated, the planned expansion of these public participation efforts across the Texas Gulf Coast have come to a halt.

A refinery is seen at sunset on June 18, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

“Our grant would have helped people who live day-to-day with air pollution to have a meaningful say in the environmental decisions that affect their lives,” explains Hadayia. “Now, communities like ours will not receive the critical support needed to make change — support that we legally and contractually received.”

While Hadayia notes that the termination wasn’t entirely unexpected given the wave of other grant suspensions since the new administration took hold, it was still a significant blow.

“I woke up the next day after we were terminated and said to myself, if they wanted to light a fire under us advocates, then that’s exactly what they got,” says Hadayia, who is actively advocating for all affected grantees.

Earthjustice’s lawsuit against the Trump administration argues that it broke multiple laws by terminating the grants. What it did is unconstitutional: It is Congress’ role to approve spending, and the White House is required to execute Congress’ wishes. It also failed to provide adequate justification for its decision and violated the Clean Air Act.

Our plaintiffs come from every region of the country and will be seeking class action certification so that all 350 grant recipients who have been harmed by the termination of the EPA program may continue their projects.

Here’s what else to know about the Trump administration’s actions and our lawsuit.

What is the Environmental and Climate Justice Program?

• The EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program was created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to award $3 billion in grants to community-based non-profits, tribes, local governments, and higher education institutions for a variety of projects that address environmental and public health issues.
• What did these grants fund? Initiatives funded by these grants targeted some of the worst polluted communities in our country and offered solutions to improve people’s health and well-being. They included:
  • improving natural disaster preparedness
  • expanding workforce development opportunities
  • improving and monitoring air quality
  • mitigating stormwater and flood damage
  • combatting high energy costs
  • increasing environmental literacy in communities
  • improving community members’ ability to participate in decision-making and permitting processes that impact their health and environment.
• These grants were a prime example of how the government is supposed to work: funding public health and community resilience initiatives that better the lives of people everywhere.

Why did the Trump administration terminate the Environmental and Climate Justice Program?

• Let’s back up: Early in his second term, President Trump issued an executive order that halted federal spending appropriated through the IRA. He also issued an executive order directing federal agencies to terminate all environmental justice offices and “equity-related” grants or contracts.
• This was always the plan: Project 2025, the Trump administration’s political playbook, calls for undoing many of the clean energy investments in the IRA, the largest climate solutions bill in history. It also supports Congressional efforts to repeal the law entirely.

Who benefited the most from these grants?

• Projects in all 50 states, with benefits for every community across the country, small town, rural, suburban, and cities.
• Groups historically impacted the most by pollution: For more than 30 years, the federal government has recognized that communities of color and low-income communities face a lopsided share of toxic pollution — leading to greater illness and reduced quality of life. The Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant programs were designed to help communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and historical disinvestments.
• Access to clean air, water, and affordable, clean energy should not depend on your zip code, race, or income. Environmental justice initiatives seek to right the wrongs of the past and chart a healthier path forward for communities who have suffered the brunt of pollution.
• We won’t let the Trump administration gut these crucial programs. Rural and urban, wealthy and low-income, red and blue. Everyone benefits from clean air, safe water, and a stable climate.

Earthjustice’s class action lawsuit challenges the termination of these environmental justice grants

• Our first ever class action lawsuit: Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Center, Public Rights Project, and Lawyers for Good Government are working in collaboration to challenge EPA’s termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant programs on behalf of grant recipients in these programs.
• We won’t let this happen: Terminating congressionally mandated grant programs causes widespread harm and disruption to local, on-the-ground projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to tackle environmental harms.
• Trump might not like the IRA, but that doesn’t mean he can ignore the rule of law: The Trump administration has unlawfully tried to claw back congressionally approved funds from the IRA since Day One in office. Earlier this year, Earthjustice sued the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of grant recipients who have been harmed by the freeze in Inflation Reduction Act funding for projects.