Nonprofits, Tribes and Local Governments Sue Trump Administration for Terminating EPA Grant Programs

Today, a coalition of nonprofits, Tribes and local governments sued the Trump administration for unlawfully terminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Grant programs despite a Congressional directive to fund them.

The plaintiffs come from every region of the country and will be seeking class action certification and preliminary relief so that all 350 grant recipients who have been harmed by the wholesale termination of the EPA program may continue their initiatives. These community-based initiatives include improving climate disaster preparedness, expanding workforce development opportunities, improving and monitoring air quality, mitigating stormwater and flood damage, combating high energy costs, and improving community members’ ability to participate in decision-making and permitting processes that impact their health and environment.

Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Center, Public Rights Project, and Lawyers for Good Government filed the challenge on behalf of ECJ grant recipients to seek the nationwide restoration of the program and to require the administration to reinstate awarded grant agreements.

“Unlawfully ending this program threatens the ability of local governments to protect their people and the environment,” said Jon Miller, Chief Program Officer, Public Rights Project. “This case isn’t just about restoring grant funding in a handful of places — it’s about restoring critical services and projects in areas of the country with the greatest need. We’re fighting alongside our partners to right the wrongs of the past and chart a healthier path forward for thousands of organizations, Tribes and communities.”

The Environmental and Climate Justice Program was created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 138 to award $3 billion in grants to community-based non-profits, Tribes, local governments, and higher education institutions in every state to tackle the climate crisis and environmental harms at the local level.

“Environmental justice grants were created to address the real harm to public health in communities of color and low wealth communities. The communities were promised transformative funding to address generations of injustice and now that’s being taken away,” SELC Litigation Director Kym Meyer said. “This administration has shown no interest in learning the truth about how these grant funds are supporting essential and impactful work on the ground. Rather they have arbitrarily and unlawfully terminated the grant programs with callous disregard for the impact of their actions — all to score political points.”

The grant-funded initiatives in rural, small town and urban communities across the country include air quality monitoring, community pollution notification systems, tree planting in urban heat zones, lead pipes replacement in community drinking water systems, resilience projects to strengthen communities against more frequent and intensifying extreme weather events, and more.

“Since his first days in office, the Trump administration has unlawfully withheld congressionally-mandated funds,” said Hana Vizcarra, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Terminating these grant programs caused widespread harm and disruption to on-the-ground projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build community capacity to tackle environmental harms. We won’t let this stand.”

“We are proud to stand alongside our partners and these plaintiffs to fight for the communities who have been unlawfully denied the resources Congress promised them. This is a blatant, illegal attempt to sidestep federal law and strip critical funding away from the communities who need it most,” said Jillian Blanchard, Vice President of the Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program at Lawyers for Good Government. “These grants were lawfully awarded, binding agreements, backed by clear Congressional authorization under the Inflation Reduction Act. The administration’s unconstitutional termination of these grants are not only destabilizing local projects addressing pollution, public health, and climate resilience, they violate core principles of administrative law and the separation of powers.”

Statements From Our Partners

“We have been told by the Trump administration that clean air is a priority for all Americans. The illegal cancellation of these clean air grants will do the exact opposite. Here in Houston — one of the most polluted cities in the country — 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. Now, communities like ours will not receive the critical support needed to make change, support that we legally and contractually received. We joined this suit because we believe everyone has the right to breathe clean air and that having the resources to do this important work on behalf of communities is worth fighting for.” – Jennifer M. Hadayia, MPA, Executive Director, Air Alliance Houston

“If the Environmental Protection Agency’s termination of $3 billion in funding for Environmental and Climate Justice Programs is not overturned, communities across six New England states will lose out on life-saving benefits. These benefits include — reducing pollution exposure, addressing climate hazards such as extreme heat and flooding, increasing energy independence, creating jobs, and building community resiliency,” said Steven Ridini, President and CEO of Health Resources in Action. “The Environmental Justice movement has spent decades fighting for investment in sustainable, community-driven efforts to dismantle environmental hazards and counter historical disinvestment. This type of investment prepares our nation for an increasingly precarious climate future. The loss of staff and community-based infrastructure destabilizes the communities these programs were designed to support, undermining the work of public health and environmental justice.”

“The termination of grant agreements disrupts our community-driven air quality data collection and community engagement that are essential for addressing environmental health disparities. Frontline communities in Dallas-Fort Worth have fought for years to establish a hyperlocal air monitoring network to combat the generations of racist zoning and top down land use planning that has created environmental injustices. Our grant would have replaced existing air quality monitors and expanded the network to more working-class, frontline communities in the DFW area; and given much needed data on how higher rates of pollution are impacting those communities. The Trump administration says that they are supportive of reducing environmental risks where scientific information is available, but decimates all of its programs that would gather that much needed information. We joined this lawsuit because we remain committed to our mission, working for environmental justice alongside communities impacted by the worst pollution. Our communities deserve environmental justice, not abandonment.” – Caleb I. Roberts, AICP, Executive Director, Downwinders at Risk

“The termination of our funding not only presents a significant challenge to Institute for Sustainable Communities, but it is devastating to the communities that were relying on these resources to advance Environmental Justice initiatives and trusted the government to deliver on their commitments. As both a national Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center and a national Thriving Communities Grantmaker, ISC is ready to deliver these life changing programs to communities across the country. These funds were awarded to U.S.-based organizations to support frontline communities working to deliver clean air, clean water, affordable energy, and economic prosperity to all Americans. As soon as our grants are reinstated, we are ready to keep going, and are proud to join other organizations fighting for the health and safety of communities across the United States, tribal nations, and territories.” – Rebecca Kaduru, President, Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC)

“All communities deserve to live in clean, healthy, and safe environments free from toxic pollutants and resilient to the harmful impacts of extreme weather. This is not a partisan position and our work across multiple administrations has supported communities across the south and nation,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder and Executive Director, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ). “The Trump administration’s efforts to cut off funding, leaves communities vulnerable and families unhealthy, all while polluters are never held accountable. In terminating the Environmental and Climate Justice Program, our agreement to help communities secure needed resources to improve polluted environmental conditions and reduce climate risks was eliminated. The system is rigged against those who need it most. We joined the lawsuit to hold the administration accountable for its misguided actions and to spur the further creation of healthier, cleaner and more resilient communities.”

“Receiving the termination letters was a deeply disappointing and troubling development. Tribal communities were relying on the critical services that this funding was designated to support. These resources are not merely financial — they represent commitments to the health, well-being, and sovereignty of our communities. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that the original agreement is honored and that all funding is fully reinstated without delay.

“I pray that we can get the funding for the erosion barrier reinstated so that we can protect our buildings, our homes, and our way of life. Without this barrier, we may be forced to relocate our entire village. I also hope that the Community Change Grant program can be saved so that other people in Alaska and elsewhere can take the actions they need to stay safe and healthy in their lands, and help to bring economic development to our communities, our states, and our nation.” – Rayna Paul Environmental Director for the Native Village of Kipnuk, a federally-recognized Tribe located in remote western Alaska.

“We are proud to be standing up for the communities and environment where we work — and, very importantly, for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution,” said Appalachian Voices Executive Director Tom Cormons. “America’s support for homegrown, local solutions to serious problems is crucially important. We are happy to be going to bat, not just for our own grant and the communities it serves, but for this program as a whole that supports similar work in rural communities, cities, and suburbs from coast to coast. The program is written into law by Congress, and it’s the EPA’s job to follow the law and implement it.”

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s unilateral termination of the City of Sacramento’s grant is inexplicable! Without this funding, the City cannot move forward with its plan to plant trees in historically under-resourced neighborhoods. Trees that will provide shade to the residents of these neighborhoods to combat Sacramento summer temperatures that typically reach one hundred degrees for days on end. These neighborhoods deserve to have the same beautiful tree canopy that is the hallmark of our ‘City of Trees.’ The City of Sacramento joined this litigation to ensure the Trump administration honors its commitments because every day that goes by without access to the grant is one less day of tree growth and tree canopy — the impacts of which will be felt for generations to come.” – Susana Alcala Wood, City Attorney, City of Sacramento

“King County is committed to environmental justice, which is why we joined this lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program,” said King County Executive Shannon Braddock. “King County partners with community organizations to expand access to education, planning, and monitoring for people living in areas disproportionately affected by climate change and related impacts on indoor air quality and public health. The sudden termination of these grants disrupted these collaborative efforts to ensure everyone in King County can live in a healthy home.”

“We were informed in February that our EPA environmental justice grant, now in its second year, was abruptly terminated,” said Brooke Perry Pardue, President/CEO of the Parks Alliance of Louisville. “This isn’t just another budget line item disappearing. We’ve had to reduce staff and adjust programming. We’ve been forced to scale back plans to expand access to greenspace in one of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods that is severely impacted by urban heat island effect. And we’re having to stretch every dollar even further at a time when operating costs are already extremely tight.”

“When we initially applied for this grant, we did so because it was the right thing to do — it would bring workforce development, support the circular economy and advanced manufacturing sector, and reduce soil pollution in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,” said Landforce CEO, Ilyssa Manspeizer. “Now, 16 months after submitting our application, we joined this lawsuit because it is also the right thing to do. The work laid out in this grant, and all the other terminated grants, is too important, touches too many lives, and creates too much opportunity to walk away. Crucially, this also acts as a record of the damage caused by the EPA’s broken promises to so many communities, so that moving forward things like this will not happen again.”