Trump ordered to release billions in climate grants meant for Black communities — SkimNews
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- Federal courts ordered the EPA to resume distributing over $22 billion in climate and environmental justice grants that the Trump administration terminated shortly after entering office in 2025.
- A South Carolina federal judge ruled in July that the EPA must restart the $2.8 billion Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program, authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act to aid Black, low-income, and disadvantaged communities.
- The Washington, D.C. Circuit Court separately blocked the EPA from rescinding nearly $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awards, a distinct $27 billion national clean-energy financing program.
- The Trump administration is appealing the ruling, claiming the EPA lacks money and staff to implement the program — the agency has fired 25% of its workers since 2024, bringing staffing to its lowest level ever.
- Mississippi's 2C Mississippi and other recipients await a $20 million resilience hub in Jackson, where brown water from household taps has caused rashes and health problems, alongside $14 million for Alabama Blackbelt wastewater systems and a $500,000 Gentilly, New Orleans micro-grid project.
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awards include $62 million for Mississippi Solar for All, $94 million for Arkansas Solar for All, and $156 million each for Georgia BRIGHT Communities Coalition, EnergizeNC, and the Industrial Heartland Solar Coalition.
- Matt Sedlar of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said the rulings are "sending a message to the administration that the separation of powers exists and that it must follow the law."
Why it matters: Communities like Jackson, Mississippi, which received a $20 million resilience hub grant in 2023 to address its chronic water crisis, could finally see federal funds flow after a year-plus delay — but the Trump administration's appeal and a 25% EPA staffing cut create real obstacles even if courts ultimately prevail, meaning legal wins don't guarantee the money actually gets deployed.
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