20-05-2025
Federal judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze funding for North Charleston weatherization project, other grants
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A federal judge in South Carolina has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze millions of dollars in federal grant funding for community-based projects, including one in North Charleston.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel partially granted the Southern Environmental Law Center's request for a permanent injunction on behalf of 11 nonprofit organizations and six cities that received awards through the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
'These grants were funded by legislation that mandated that the funds be expended for a specific purpose and left no discretion to agency heads to disregard the legislative mandates because current officials did not approve of the purposes of the previously appropriated programs,' the May 20 order stated.
The plaintiffs in the March 19 lawsuit each received money for their respective projects but have been unable to access it since Trump's executive orders paused funding associated with the pair of spending packages. Two more groups were later added to the initial complaint.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the delays and disruption caused by the executive action left many projects in limbo, and in some cases forced the groups to consider layoffs or other mechanisms to stay financially afloat.
Among the named projects was one by the North Charleston-based Sustainability Institute to build and weatherize affordable homes in the Union Heights neighborhood.
The nonprofit was awarded a $11.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 to carry out the project. That funding, which officials said had been frozen and unfrozen multiple times since the end of January, will again be accessible under the judge's ruling.
'This is a huge victory for these organizations who can now get back to work improving their communities,' said SELC Litigation Director Kym Meyer.
Gergel's order also restored funding for 31 other projects approved under the Biden administration. Federal government attorneys did not contest the plaintiff's claims on those 32 projects, but wrote in a May 16 filing that they plan to appeal on jurisdictional grounds.
The order did not extend to farming-based grants provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry program to allow for further testimony.
The SELC said it 'feels confident' the court will also find that those six grants were unlawfully terminated.
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