Court orders don't lift EPA spending freeze
Two judges have instructed the administration to remove the freeze. However, nonprofits and states are still unable to access funds for contracts supported by the Inflation Reduction Act.
TroibNews 
The Trump administration continues to freeze numerous climate and infrastructure grants, despite two federal court orders prohibiting such actions.
As of Monday, nonprofits and state agencies still did not have access to EPA grant awards funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Two district court judges had issued orders to lift these spending freezes, with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan reaffirming her order on the same day.
The EPA oversees various significant grant programs under the climate legislation, such as the nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program and the $7 billion Solar for All program, which aids community and rooftop solar initiatives in low-income areas. Most of these grants were finalized before former President Joe Biden left office last month, leaving the Trump EPA with limited options to retract funds or repurpose awards.
The halting of payouts from the IRA and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law is not confined to the EPA, according to Jillian Blanchard, vice president for climate change and environmental justice with Lawyers for Good Government. She noted that grant recipients from the Agriculture and Energy departments are also facing difficulties accessing their funds.
“People cannot get into their accounts. They can't access funding. They're waiting on invoices to be paid. No one will call them back,” she stated.
Recipients of EPA programs informed PMG's E&E News on Monday that the inability to access funds was already causing problems after just one week. Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, they reported having to cover costs for expenses like payroll or rent, uncertain when they would receive reimbursement. The funding freeze has also led some recipients to halt hiring and prompted concerns about how long they would be able to pay their current staff.
In a filing on Monday, the Justice Department acknowledged AliKhan’s order and committed to informing relevant agencies. However, it argued that the order “contains several ambiguous terms and provisions that could be read to constitute significant intrusions on the executive branch’s lawful authorities and the separation of powers.”
EPA’s acting General Counsel Sean Donahue distributed a “mass mailer” to all employees before 9 a.m. Monday, which included a link to the temporary restraining order. He assured staff that “additional EPA-specific guidance on agency financial assistance” would follow, but sources indicated that this guidance had not been issued by Monday evening.
When E&E News sought clarification from the EPA regarding the continued freezing of funds, the agency declined to respond, directing inquiries to the DOJ. The EPA did not address questions concerning whether the hold-up stemmed from technical issues or if the agency believed it was abiding by the court order.
The DOJ did not provide a comment.
Zealan Hoover, formerly the director of implementation at Biden’s EPA, expressed concerns that the Trump administration seemed to be evading the order.
“I am very concerned that this illegal action will force state and local governments to pause construction, lay off staff and slow their work to provide cleaner air and water,” he remarked.
Blanchard shared this apprehension.
“It looks like this executive is considering just completely flouting a court's direct order,” she added.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
As of Monday, nonprofits and state agencies still did not have access to EPA grant awards funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Two district court judges had issued orders to lift these spending freezes, with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan reaffirming her order on the same day.
The EPA oversees various significant grant programs under the climate legislation, such as the nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program and the $7 billion Solar for All program, which aids community and rooftop solar initiatives in low-income areas. Most of these grants were finalized before former President Joe Biden left office last month, leaving the Trump EPA with limited options to retract funds or repurpose awards.
The halting of payouts from the IRA and the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law is not confined to the EPA, according to Jillian Blanchard, vice president for climate change and environmental justice with Lawyers for Good Government. She noted that grant recipients from the Agriculture and Energy departments are also facing difficulties accessing their funds.
“People cannot get into their accounts. They can't access funding. They're waiting on invoices to be paid. No one will call them back,” she stated.
Recipients of EPA programs informed PMG's E&E News on Monday that the inability to access funds was already causing problems after just one week. Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, they reported having to cover costs for expenses like payroll or rent, uncertain when they would receive reimbursement. The funding freeze has also led some recipients to halt hiring and prompted concerns about how long they would be able to pay their current staff.
In a filing on Monday, the Justice Department acknowledged AliKhan’s order and committed to informing relevant agencies. However, it argued that the order “contains several ambiguous terms and provisions that could be read to constitute significant intrusions on the executive branch’s lawful authorities and the separation of powers.”
EPA’s acting General Counsel Sean Donahue distributed a “mass mailer” to all employees before 9 a.m. Monday, which included a link to the temporary restraining order. He assured staff that “additional EPA-specific guidance on agency financial assistance” would follow, but sources indicated that this guidance had not been issued by Monday evening.
When E&E News sought clarification from the EPA regarding the continued freezing of funds, the agency declined to respond, directing inquiries to the DOJ. The EPA did not address questions concerning whether the hold-up stemmed from technical issues or if the agency believed it was abiding by the court order.
The DOJ did not provide a comment.
Zealan Hoover, formerly the director of implementation at Biden’s EPA, expressed concerns that the Trump administration seemed to be evading the order.
“I am very concerned that this illegal action will force state and local governments to pause construction, lay off staff and slow their work to provide cleaner air and water,” he remarked.
Blanchard shared this apprehension.
“It looks like this executive is considering just completely flouting a court's direct order,” she added.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
