Press Release  AG Campbell Supports Challenge to EPA's Unlawful Termination of Environmental Justice Grant Program

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell co-led a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Appalachian Voices v. EPA in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unlawful termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program. The program, created and funded by Congress through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to provide critical support to communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change.

“The EPA’s abrupt termination of the Environmental and Climate Justice Grant Program, without individual review or explanation, is just as unlawful as it is cruel. Congress appropriated this funding to address the longstanding and disproportionate environmental burdens faced by communities across the country that do not have the resources they urgently need," said AG Campbell.  “All people – regardless of their background – deserve to live in a clean, healthy environment. I will continue to leverage the full weight and power of my office to prioritize and advance environmental and climate justice and fight back against this Administration’s unlawful policies.”

In the brief, AG Campbell and the coalition emphasize that by terminating this grant program, the federal government is inflicting serious, lasting harm on communities already grappling with disproportionate pollution burdens and the escalating effects of climate change. These communities, which are often low-income, communities of color, indigenous, or in rural areas, face overlapping environmental and public health crises.  

The attorneys general explain that these challenges have only been made worse by historical discriminatory policies including racial segregation, redlining, and a systemic lack of investment in disadvantaged neighborhoods. These communities are often under-resourced with limited access to vital needs like clean drinking water and are less equipped to recover from devastating weather-related events or to mitigate the increasing impact of climate change within their communities. 

In 2022, Congress created the grant program under the Inflation Reduction Act, mandating that EPA distribute $3 billion to help address longstanding environmental disparities. In Massachusetts alone, there are an estimated nine grantees slated to receive more than $85 million from EPA under the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants program. The sudden termination of these grants has forced grantees to lay off staff, halt programming, and freeze hiring. 

For example, Springfield, Massachusetts, which experienced five major disasters between 2011 and 2013 and has a 33% poverty rate and large immigrant population, was slated to receive $20 million from the Community Change grant to monitor and address outdoor and indoor air pollution, develop a community solar program, and minimize heat island effects by planting 1,500 trees. The City of Springfield is a named plaintiff in the litigation.   

The coalition notes that EPA’s mass cancellation of the environmental and climate justice grant program violates clear congressional mandates and fundamental constitutional principles. Congress directed the EPA to distribute these funds using mandatory language in the Inflation Reduction Act, leaving the agency no discretion to unilaterally withdraw support. The coalition is urging the court to grant plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and ensure that the environmental justice grants remain available for the communities that so desperately need them. 

Joining AG Campbell in filing this brief, which she co-led with the attorneys general of New York and California, are the attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. 

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