FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2025
Media Contact: Brenda Franco | [email protected] | 832.755.6220
HOUSTON, TX —Today, Air Alliance Houston joined a coalition of nonprofits, Tribes and local governments 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.
The plaintiffs come from every region of the country and will be seeking class action certification so that all 350 grant recipients who have been harmed by the wholesale termination of the EPA program may continue their projects.
“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 – 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, support that we legally and contractually received. 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 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, combat 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.
“Unlawfully ending this program threatens the ability of local governments to protect their people and the environment,” said Jon Miller, Chief Program Officer, Public Rights Project. “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.”
"Environmental justice grants were created to address the real harm to public health in communities of color and low wealth communities,” SELC Litigation Director Kym Meyer said. “No one voted for community-based organizations to get the rug pulled out from under them. This administration is using political rhetoric as an excuse to unlawfully take away money that Congress appropriated for these projects. This lawsuit will prove that in court.”
“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 contact: Brenda Franco, [email protected], 832.755.6220
About Air Alliance Houston
Air Alliance Houston is a non-profit organization working to reduce the public health impacts of air pollution and advance environmental justice through applied research, education, and advocacy. For more information and resources, please visit www.airalliancehouston.org.