NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) joined a coalition of nonprofits and community groups to sue 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.
Alongside plaintiffs across the country, DSCEJ is seeking class action certification so all grant recipients who have been harmed by the wholesale termination of the EPA program, may continue their projects.
“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 of 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.”
In November 2023, DSCEJ launched the Community Investment Recovery Center (CIRC) to provide direct services to community-based organizations (CBOs) and Tribal communities through capacity building, technical assistance, and training. The service area spans 13 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas – and 73 Tribes. CIRC leveled the playing field by building the capacity of organizations, most of whom had never applied for a federal grant, to identify potential funding opportunities for their community and navigate the application process.
The cancelled EPA grants supported community-based initiatives that include improving natural 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.
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.
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.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ginger LeBlanc – media@dscej.org
Grace Gill Qayoumi – gqayoumi@skdknick.com
