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.
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 subawards 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.”
He said the agency exceeded its authority in cancelling the grants “precisely because they are ‘environmental justice’ programs” even though Congress directed money toward that very issue. He also said the move included a “lack of any reasoned decision-making, or reasoned explanation.”
A spokesperson for the EPA said in an email that it was reviewing the decision.
The Trump administration has sought to rein in spending across the board, but especially at the EPA. It has separately attempted to cancel a similar $20 billion program that seeks to fund climate-friendly projects.
It has also targeted environmental justice initiatives and fired hundreds of staffers who worked on that issue.