Obama-Appointed Judge Temporarily Blocks EPA From Canceling Climate Grants

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from terminating grants that were part of a $20 billion climate funding program created by the previous administration.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 16: Lee Zeldin speaks during his Senate confirmation hearing Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In a 23-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan – nominated by President Obama – issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the EPA from terminating grants awarded to three environmental groups—Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities—and block Citibank from transferring the funds back to the government.

According to the court ruling, the EPA explained that it was terminating the grants due to multiple ongoing investigations into “programmatic waste, fraud, and abuse and conflict of interest.”

Chutkan said the evidence was insufficient as the agency failed to provide specific information about the investigations, factual support for the decision, or an individualized explanation for each plaintiff.

“Based on the record before the court, and under the relevant statutes and various agreements, it does not appear that EPA Defendants took the legally required steps necessary to terminate these grants, such that its actions were arbitrary and capricious,” the judge wrote.

Chutkan said the plaintiffs would face imminent harm if Citibank were to transfer the funds—which they use to pay staff, rent, and fund projects—out of their accounts, as the money would be unrecoverable by then.

The judge stated that the plaintiffs have no cash or reserves available to cover their operating expenses and have no other committed sources of funding that could replace the grants.

Climate United was awarded $6.97 billion, the Coalition for Green Capital received $5 billion, and Power Forward Communities received $2 billion last year through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was created under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Their grants, held by Citibank, were part of the $20 billion in funding the Biden administration awarded to eight entities for projects aimed at curbing pollution.

The three nonprofits filed the lawsuit on March 8 after Citibank withheld their funding and their grants were terminated. The plaintiffs alleged that the EPA’s decision to terminate their grants was unlawful.

Climate United CEO Beth Bafford said in a statement that the preliminary injunction marked “a strong step in the right direction” for their legal challenge against the EPA.

“In the coming weeks, we will continue working towards a long-term solution that will allow us to invest in projects that deliver energy savings, create jobs, and boost American manufacturing in communities across the country,” Bafford stated.

Commenting on the ruling, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the former Biden administration awarded the grants to “politically connected” nonprofit organizations “in a manner that deliberately reduced the ability of EPA to conduct proper oversight.”

Zeldin vowed to claw back the funding and ensure that “every penny EPA spends” is directed toward its core mission of protecting human health and the environment.

“I will not rest until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the U.S. Treasury,” the EPA head said in a statement.

Zeldin said last month that the EPA had decided to rescind the grants for climate and clean-energy projects due to concerns over lack of oversight and transparency.

He alleged that the eight entities were tasked with funding nongovernmental organizations and other groups at their discretion and with “far less transparency.”

“This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history,” Zeldin said in a video on Feb. 13. “It was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rushed job with reduced oversight.”

In its court filing, Climate United asked the court to order Citibank to comply with its contractual obligations and to declare that the EPA’s termination of the grant violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

“This isn’t about politics; it’s about economics,” Bafford said in a statement announcing the lawsuit on March 8. “This program was designed to save money for hard-working Americans who are struggling to pay for groceries and keep the lights on.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, and Citibank for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.