Nonprofits, Tribes and Local Governments Sue Trump Administration for Terminating EPA Grant Programs
Terminating these programs leaves communities more vulnerable to pollution and disasters
Washington, D.C. —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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
“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.”
“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 and the self-proclaimed ‘Energy Capital of the World’ - 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. Unleashing American energy will mean unleashing pollution on the most vulnerable Americans. 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.”
###
The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 200, including more than 130 legal and policy experts, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. selc.org
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Public Rights Project helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We do this by building their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convening and connecting them on issues of civil rights, and providing legal representation to governments to help them win in court on behalf of their residents. Since our founding, we’ve built a network of over 1,300 partners, including elected officials and 227 government offices across all 50 states, and helped recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people. publicrightsproject.org
Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large-scale pro bono programs and issue advocacy efforts to protect human rights, defend the environment, and ensure equal justice under the law, and has a network of 125,000+ lawyers to assist in its efforts. lawyersforgoodgovernment.org
Earthjustice is the premier environmental law organization in the U.S., and the legal backbone of the domestic environmental movement. For over 50 years, we have been fighting in the courts, in legislatures, and in the court of public opinion to stop the climate crisis, create healthy communities free of pollution, safeguard our precious lands and waters, and expand environmental legal frameworks to achieve these goals. Earthjustice.org