By Rachel Frazin, The Hill
A federal judge this week barred the Trump administration from axing grants that were part of a $600 million program that aimed to tackle pollution in underserved communities.
In a Tuesday order, the Biden-appointed Judge Adam Abelson set aside the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) termination of these grants.
The grants in question come from a larger $3 billion pool from Democrats’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which set money aside for environmental justice.
Judge rules EPA termination of environmental justice grants was unlawful (Politico)
This week’s decision pertains to the $600 million set of grants the EPA said in 2023 would be dispersed to regional “grantmaking” organizations that would then issue sub-awards to local organizations.
But, earlier this year, the Trump administration said it would terminate the grants.
However, Abelson argued that doing so exceeded the agency’s authority and was “arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of discretion.”
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month
