Latest news with #CleanAireNC
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal funding restored for air quality monitoring after nonprofit sues Trump administration
This week, a federal judge has ordered that federal funding to an air quality monitoring program in Mecklenburg County must be restored. The decision came down Monday, after a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Public Rights Project against the Trump administration in March. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Air quality monitoring nonprofit files lawsuit over federal funding freeze CleanAire NC was awarded a $500,000 federal grant through the EPA in 2023 to expand air quality monitoring in northern Mecklenburg County, targeting communities with historically high pollution levels as a part of the Biden Administration's focus on environmental justice. Current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has criticized the previous focus on environmental justice for unfairly factoring race and background into federal funding decisions. Under the new leadership, the EPA has worked to dismantle its Office of Environmental Justice and reassign its staffers or place them on leave. Judge Richard Gergel, A U.S. District Court judge for the District of South Carolina, ordered the Trump administration to restore $176 million in grant funding for six municipalities and 13 nonprofit groups, including CleanAire NC, siding with the SELC's argument that freezing the congressionally apportioned funds violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In March, when the SELC initially filed this suit, Andrew Whelan, a spokesman for CleanAire NC, said the nonprofit was planning to launch its three-year air monitoring program this summer. The nonprofit had already paid some of the program costs upfront, but without access to federal dollars from the grant, he wasn't sure the program could continue. Now, Whelan said CleanAire NC is waiting to see when the previously frozen funds become available and how many more months and activities of the program the nonprofit will be able to support with the amount of funding we're able to draw down when they do. 'This decision validates what CleanAIRE NC and our community partners have experienced firsthand: the disruption caused by the unlawful funding freeze has real consequences for our ability to protect public health in North Carolina,' Whelan said in a statement. 'We are hopeful that this ruling will lead to the swift restoration of funds, allowing us to resume essential air quality monitoring and community engagement initiatives that are crucial for a healthier future.' Attorneys representing the Trump Administration said they planned to appeal the decision. Whelan said it's unclear whether CleanAire NC will be able to access the funds while another case is pending. The SELC, on behalf of CleanAire NC, also announced Thursday it's joining a second lawsuit challenging the federal funding freeze on the $5 billion for the national EV Charging program. The attorneys again claim the federal branch does not have the legal authority to freeze congressionally appointed funds. VIDEO: What is a Code Red Air Quality Alert?
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sustain Charlotte urges local investment as EPA dismantles environmental justice initiatives
In an effort to eliminate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility initiatives from the federal government, new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin closed the agencies environmental justice offices and placed 171 federal workers on administrative leave. Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave Zeldin argues environmental justice unfairly factors race and background into federal funding decisions, but supporters of environmental initiatives say it's about ensuring money goes where it's needed most. Shannon Binns, the executive director of Sustain Charlotte, points to Charlotte's Historic West End Green District as an example. 'It's looking at what are the discrepancies,' he said. 'What is needed in one community or for one individual may not the be the same as what's needed for another individual.' The west Charlotte neighborhood has a history of poor quality due to nearby industry and highway pollution so CleanAire NC started the initiative to address the problems. In partnership with Mecklenburg County and the federal government, their efforts got an EPA air quality monitor in the neighborhood to provide real-time data on pollution while investment in greenspaces and strategic tree planting has helped them create more natural air filtration. To Binns, environmental justice is a necessary framework that helps communities identify where communities are suffering most from pollution or face the highest risk from climate disasters. It also factors in the histories of those communities acknowledging that these are places that historically haven't seen much investment at all, let alone for environmental mitigation. Lastly, he said it's important to acknowledge these places tend to be low-income areas and, especially in Charlotte and across the Southeast, predominantly Black communities. 'The fact of the matter is that policies and budgets have discriminated against people of color over many decades and really centuries so that requires addressing if we want to give people equal opportunities,' he said. That's where Zeldin takes issue. He and the Trump Administration believe focusing on race and inequality adds an unnecessarily ideological spin to the work they do. In a statement regarding his decision to eliminate environmental justice initiatives and positions, he said, 'We will be good stewards of tax dollars and do everything in our power to deliver clean air, land, and water to every American, regardless of race, religion, background, and creed.' Meanwhile, Binns argues ignoring issues of inequality won't make the issues go away, but if places like Charlotte want to make environmental justice a priority, funding, and support will likely have to come from state or local sources moving forward. VIDEO: Lowe's shifts DEI programs, will end participation in Human Rights Campaign survey
