Latest news with #Justice40
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump cuts hundreds of EPA grants, leaving cities on the hook for climate resiliency
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and WABE, Atlanta's NPR station. Thomasville, Georgia, has a water problem. Its treatment system is far out of date, posing serious health and environmental risks. 'We have wastewater infrastructure that is old,' said Sheryl Sealy, the assistant city manager for this city of 18,881 near the Florida border, about 45 minutes from Tallahassee. 'It's critical that we do the work to replace this.' But it's expensive to replace. The system is especially bad in underserved parts of the city, Sealy said. In September, Thomasville applied to get some help from the federal government, and just under four months later, the city and its partners were awarded a nearly $20 million Community Change grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make the long-overdue wastewater improvements, build a resilience hub and health clinic, and upgrade homes in several historic neighborhoods. 'The grant itself was really a godsend for us,' Sealy said. In early April, as the EPA canceled grants for similar projects across the country, federal officials assured Thomasville that their funding was on track. Then on May 1, the city received a termination notice. 'We felt, you know, a little taken off guard when the bottom did let out for us,' said Sealy. Thomasville isn't alone. Under the Trump administration, the EPA has canceled or interrupted hundreds of grants aimed at improving health and severe weather preparedness because the agency 'determined that the grant applications no longer support administration priorities,' according to an emailed statement to Grist. The cuts are part of a broader gutting of federal programs aimed at furthering environmental justice, an umbrella term for the effort to help communities that have been hardest hit by pollution and other environmental issues, which often include low-income communities and communities of color. In Thomasville's case, the city has a history of heavy industry that has led to poor air quality. Air pollution, health concerns, and high poverty qualified the surrounding county for the Biden administration's Justice40 initiative, which prioritized funding for disadvantaged communities. Thomasville has some of the highest exposure risks in Georgia to toxic air pollutants that can cause respiratory, reproductive, and developmental health problems, according to the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Vulnerability Index. The city's wastewater woes don't only mean the potential for sewage backups in homes and spills into local waterways but also the risk of upper respiratory problems, according to Zealan Hoover, a former Biden administration EPA official who is now advising the advocacy groups Environmental Protection Network and Lawyers for Good Government. 'These projects were selected because they have a really clear path to alleviating the health challenges facing this community,' he said. Critics argue there's a disconnect between the Trump administration's attack on the concept of environmental justice and the realities of what the funds are paying for. 'What is it about building a new health clinic and upgrading wastewater infrastructure … that's inconsistent with administration policy?' Democratic Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff asked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin at a recent hearing. Zeldin repeatedly responded by discussing the agency's review process intended to comply with President Donald Trump's executive orders, particularly those related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, but Ossoff cut him off, pushing for a specific answer about Thomasville's grant. 'Is a new health clinic for Thomasville, Georgia, woke?' he asked. Thomasville's Sealy said she understands that the federal government has to make hard funding decisions — that's true locally too — but losing this grant has left her city in the lurch. In addition to the planned work on the wastewater collection system, the city needs to update its treatment plant to meet EPA standards. That overhaul will likely cost $60 million to $70 million, she said. 'How do you fund that?' Sealy asked. 'You can't fund that on the backs of the people who pay our rates.' The funding cuts have left cities across Georgia — including Athens, Norcross, and Savannah — as well as nonprofit groups, in a state of uncertainty: some grants terminated, some suspended then reinstated, some still unclear. This puts city officials in an impossible position, unable to wait or to move forward, according to Athens-Clarke County Sustainability Director Mike Wharton. 'Do you commit to new programs? Do you commit to services?' he said. 'Here you are sitting in limbo for months.' Like Thomasville, Athens was also awarded a nearly $20 million Community Change grant. The city was going to use the money for backup generators, solar power, and battery storage at its public safety complex — ensuring 911, police, the jail, a domestic violence shelter, and other services could all operate during a power outage. That grant has been terminated. The problem, Wharton said, goes beyond that money not coming in; the city had already spent time, resources, and money to get the grant. 'We spent $60,000 in local funding hiring people to write the grants,' he said. 'Over a period of 14 months we invested over 700 hours of local personnel time. So we diverted our services to focus on these things.' These frustrations are playing out for grant recipients throughout the state and country, according to Hoover. He said it's not just confusing — it's expensive. 'They are causing project costs to skyrocket because they keep freezing and unfreezing and refreezing projects,' he said. 'One of the big drivers of cost overruns in any infrastructure project, public or private, is having to demobilize and remobilize your teams.' Thomasville and Athens officials both said they're appealing their grant terminations, which require them to submit a formal letter outlining the reasons for their appeal and requesting the agency reconsider the decision. They're also reaching out to their elected officials, hoping that pressure from their senators and members of Congress can get them the federal money they were promised. Other cities and nonprofits, as well as a group of Democratic state attorneys general, have sued, arguing that terminating their grants without following proper procedures is illegal. But that's a difficult step for many localities to take. 'Suing the federal government to assert your legal rights is very daunting, even if the law is on your side,' Hoover said. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Trump cuts hundreds of EPA grants, leaving cities on the hook for climate resiliency on Jun 2, 2025.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What to know about the Milwaukee church tree-planting project halted by Trump administration
A Milwaukee church had planned to plant 16 native trees to help cool down the Harambee neighborhood. But its plan is now on hold as the Trump administration reviews funds for climate projects. Solomon Community Temple United Methodist Church, which is heavily invested in protecting the environment, received $28,000 to plant and care for the trees over several years. Here's what to know about the church's efforts and why the funds are frozen. Trees provide benefits to the environment and to health, like filtering out air pollution, storing carbon dioxide and taking water into their root systems to reduce flooding. Tree cover also provides shade, keeping things cool during the summer heat. That helps combat the urban heat island effect, where an abundance of manmade surfaces like parking lots, sidewalks and streets absorb and hold onto heat and produce temperatures several degrees hotter. More urban green space has even been tied to improved mental health, more active lifestyles and reduced crime and violence. But not all neighborhoods have the same amount of tree cover. A 2021 study from the Nature Conservancy found that lower-income blocks had less tree cover than higher-income blocks in 92% of the cities surveyed. And people of color are more likely to live in areas with more concrete and fewer trees because of discriminatory practices like redlining. The Harambee neighborhood has far fewer trees than other Milwaukee neighborhoods, and lots of impervious surfaces, said Katharine Goray, the church's chair of projects and outreach ministries. "If every church or nonprofit or house of faith were even to plant a couple trees ... it would make Harambee much more livable and healthy," she said. More: Milwaukee church saw opportunity to plant trees on empty land. Trump team saw DEI effort. More: A new urban forest is growing in Sherman Park. Here's why that's big for the neighborhood The money came from former President Joe Biden's sweeping climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. Faith in Place, a Chicago nonprofit, received $1.9 million to distribute tree-planting grants to about 60 community groups across Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, including Solomon Community Temple. The funds were part of a $1.5 billion investment in urban tree-planting that the Biden administration announced in 2023 through the U.S. Forest Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture. It was part of Biden's Justice40 initiative, which mandated 40% of the benefits of certain environmental programs go to disadvantaged communities. President Donald Trump ended the Justice40 initiative in his purge of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from the federal government. Trump froze Inflation Reduction Act funds upon taking office and ordered agencies to review whether they align with his administration's priorities. On March 13, Faith in Place joined onto a lawsuit against the Trump administration by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law group, arguing that the administration is illegally withholding funds from the Inflation Reduction Act that have already been appropriated by Congress. Kira Dault, communications director for Faith in Place, said April 18 that the organization asked for an advance payment from the Forest Service for 25% of the funds for grantees who wanted to proceed with their projects. A majority of the grantees, including Solomon Community Temple, wanted to do so, even though whether they'll get any money at all is still uncertain. More: Wisconsin counts on help from AmeriCorps. With new DOGE cuts, volunteers are no longer coming. "The goal is to provide funding for them to at least get trees in the ground," Dault said. Goray said a few people have reached out after reading the Journal Sentinel story and offered to volunteer or donate money for the trees, which she called "very encouraging." Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee church's tree-planting project halted by Trump: What to know
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Milwaukee church saw opportunity to plant trees on empty land. Trump team saw DEI effort
Milwaukee church saw opportunity to plant trees on empty land. Trump team saw DEI effort Show Caption Hide Caption Trump calls for end to DEI programs President Donald Trump is calling for an end to federal diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs. Fox - Seattle Solomon Community Temple United Methodist Church, in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood, was supposed to receive $28,000 in federal funds to plant 16 native trees on their property. The neighborhood has few trees compared to other Milwaukee neighborhoods and lots of concrete surfaces, which absorb heat in the summertime and can make things feel hotter. The nonprofit Faith in Place received $1.9 million from a Biden-era grant to the U.S. Forest Service to distribute to 59 groups across the upper Midwest to plant trees and create shade. As the Trump administration reviews federal climate funds, these and others are stalled, leaving people who were set to start their projects in limbo. This spring, Solomon Community Temple United Methodist Church in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood was going to get greener. The church, which is heavily invested in protecting the environment, had secured nearly $28,000 to plant 16 native trees on its property with the hope of bringing more shade to the neighborhood. It was to be a small but important step toward making sure all city neighborhoods reap the health and environmental benefits trees provide, not just wealthier ones. "We're in a very visible spot in Milwaukee," said Katharine Goray, the church's chair of projects and outreach ministries. "If we can create a ripple effect through other houses of faith and nonprofits, it would make a substantial difference and help balance that lack of green space." Those plans are now on hold. The money came from former President Joe Biden's sweeping climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act — money that President Donald Trump froze upon taking office and ordered agencies to review. With the review ongoing, Faith in Place, a Chicago nonprofit which received $1.9 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds for tree-planting work, can't pass on the funds it promised to groups across the upper Midwest. That included the money for Solomon Community Temple. Goray is adamant that the funding freeze won't stop the church from adding to the neighborhood's tree canopy. If the congregation can't plant 16 trees, she said, they can at least plant one. But it will slow the work down — and with trees, which can take a decade or more to mature, time is of the essence. Trees offer numerous benefits to people, environment The grant money came from a $1.5 billion investment in urban tree-planting that the Biden administration announced in 2023 through the U.S. Forest Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture. It was part of Biden's Justice40 initiative, which mandated 40% of the benefits of certain environmental programs go to disadvantaged communities. Trump ended the Justice40 initiative in his purge of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from the federal government. Trees provide numerous benefits to the environment and to health, like filtering out air pollution, storing carbon dioxide and taking water into their root systems to reduce flooding. Tree cover also provides shade, keeping things cool during the summer heat. That helps combat the urban heat island effect, where an abundance of manmade surfaces like parking lots, sidewalks and streets absorb and hold onto heat and produce temperatures several degrees hotter than the overall temperature forecast. More urban green space has even been tied to improved mental health, more active lifestyles and reduced crime and violence. But not all neighborhoods have the same amount of tree cover. A 2021 study from the Nature Conservancy found that lower-income blocks had less tree cover than higher-income blocks in 92% of the cities surveyed. People of color are more likely to live in areas with more concrete and fewer trees because of discriminatory practices like redlining. This is true in Milwaukee, one of the nation's most segregated cities, although organizations across the city have been working to increase tree cover in neighborhoods that need it most. That includes the Harambee neighborhood, which has a lack of trees and lots of impervious surfaces, Goray said. The church has more control over its property than, say, a city park, Goray said, and its actions affect more than just one household. That's why it wanted to get involved in the effort. "If every church or nonprofit or house of faith were even to plant a couple trees ... it would make Harambee much more livable and healthy," she said. Uncertainty remains for church tree project Fifty-nine faith and community groups in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana were to receive money from Faith in Place for tree-planting, education and maintenance, said Rev. Brian Sauder, Faith in Place's president and CEO. The groups were excited to begin the work when the grants were announced in January, Sauder said. Contacting them to tell them the funds couldn't flow was devastating. "In my 11 years being CEO of Faith in Place, I haven't had a situation where I committed to our partners, 'We're going to be able to provide this for you,' and haven't been able to follow through on that," Sauder said. In mid-March, Faith in Place joined onto a lawsuit against the Trump administration by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law group, alleging that the administration is illegally withholding funds from the Inflation Reduction Act that have already been appropriated by Congress. Kira Dault, communications director for Faith in Place, said April 18 that the organization asked for an advance payment from the Forest Service for 25% of the funds for grantees who wanted to proceed with their projects. A majority of the grantees, including Solomon Community Temple, wanted to do so, even though whether they'll get any money at all is still uncertain. "The goal is to provide funding for them to at least get trees in the ground," Dault said. Goray said her initial reaction to hearing about what happened to the grant was despair, then anger. But now, she said, she's ready to move forward. Through a different grant, Solomon Community Temple will plant almost 500 native plants on its property this summer, she said, and continue other acts of environmental stewardship. "If we don't do it," she said, "it's not going to get done." Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at mheim@
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump has canceled environmental justice grants. Here's what communities are losing.
Daisha Wall, left, community science program manager at CleanAIRE NC, helps a community member set up an air quality monitor. The Trump administration has canceled environmental justice-related grants, including one CleanAIRE NC received to install air quality monitors. (Courtesy of CleanAIRE NC) Jabaar Edmond has long advocated for better air quality in his Childs Park neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida. For decades, residents of the predominantly Black neighborhood complained of a persistent gasolinelike odor. 'We had an initiative called 'Smell something, say something,'' said Edmond, former president of the neighborhood's association. Residents have long sounded that alarm, blaming the noxious odor on a nearby oil recycling facility. Last year, the city funded the planting of more than 180 trees across the neighborhood. Trees help battle the urban heat island effect and filter pollutants, which can mitigate odors and improve air quality. The project was funded by a federal grant from the U.S. Forest Service. But now, the agency is hindering such efforts, canceling a grant that supports tree-planting in disadvantaged communities. Communities across the nation are losing federal funds that helped pay for environmental justice efforts designed to mitigate the health effects of pollution and other hazards on historically underserved communities. President Donald Trump's administration has targeted those initiatives in its drive to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — programs. Tribes, long shut out from their own health data, fight for access and sovereignty 'Where it hurts for us is we still have a huge environmental problem that's occurring in real time that we're attempting to mitigate,' Edmond said. Environmental justice refers to equitable access to healthy environments. Federal housing policies and disinvestment in historically segregated communities have been linked to numerous health consequences. Communities of color have been disproportionately exposed to refineries and other sources of pollution. Air pollution is linked to asthma, cardiovascular problems and lower life expectancy. Such systematic, disproportionate exposure to industrial pollutants and disinvestment is known as environmental racism. Research shows, for example, that Black Americans living in communities that were redlined — a discriminatory practice under which the federal government and banks systematically denied mortgages to residents of minority neighborhoods — have lower life expectancy and more exposure to air pollution and other hazards. Meanwhile, many tribal communities have been the sites of or near mineral mining and oil and gas development. The Biden administration awarded grants to help correct those harms, centering environmental justice and climate change across multiple federal agencies. The Justice40 initiative aimed to invest 40% of federal climate, housing, clean energy and clean water benefits in historically underserved communities. Now, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has canceled more than 400 environmental justice grants totaling $1.7 billion. Democrats are accusing EPA of illegally canceling the grants, as many were funded through Biden-era congressionally appropriated funds under the Inflation Reduction Act. EPA canceled the grants as part of sweeping cuts to what the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force deem unnecessary spending. In recent weeks, Democrats have demanded Zeldin reverse the cancellations. The Trump administration has also shut down the EPA's Office of Environmental Justice, as well as the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. State environmental and health departments, regulatory agencies, city and county governments, elementary schools, nonprofits and tribal communities were among those that received grants. The grant-funded projects had a broad range of missions: They included child lead-poisoning prevention efforts, community air monitoring, tree-planting efforts and solar energy investments. 'I don't know how we've come to demonize the idea that people deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water and have access to environments that are non-polluting,' said Diana Hernandez, associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. 'It's a big loss, and it's destabilizing.' Wind and solar power opponents make headway in state legislatures Hernandez, a former member of New York City's Environmental Justice Advisory Board, researches health, housing and energy insecurity. Many of her studies focus on communities like the South Bronx, the neighborhood she calls home, where the air is heavy with emissions because multiple highways converge there. Children and adults in the Bronx have higher rates of emergency room visits for asthma than residents of any other New York City borough. 'I grew up in a community of need. It's officially labeled as an environmental justice community, a disadvantaged community,' she said. 'My mom is my next-door neighbor, and so we weekend in the 'hood. We still have our place there.' The goal of her work has been to elevate the 'lived realities of people in communities like the South Bronx.' 'You can't take care of people if the organizations and agencies that are looking out for their best interests through oversight are gone,' she said. Many grantees, particularly those associated with universities, are hesitant to speak out about the impact a loss in funds will have on their projects. 'They're just struggling and trying to figure out, 'How do we push back in a way that doesn't put a target on us?'' said Ryan Hathaway, director of environment and climate justice at Lawyers for Good Government. His organization is leading a pro bono network offering legal advice to hundreds of groups as well as to state and local agencies whose grants are frozen or canceled. Hathaway previously served under the Biden administration as director for environmental justice and the White House Interagency Council on Environmental Justice. 'It's still shocking to me to have these interviews,' he said. 'We're talking about whether or not it's good for children to be able to drink water safely. It just feels like a gut punch.' Black children, for example, are more likely to have higher average blood lead levels, from exposure to water pumped through lead pipes in older buildings, as well as through lead paint. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible cognitive development damage in children as they rapidly develop. Among the grants targeted for cancellation was a $500,000 award to the nonprofit Childhood Lead Action Project, as well as a $1 million award to Kansas City, Missouri, for soil lead mitigation. A $14 million grant awarded to Texas A&M University and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program aimed to install wastewater treatment systems throughout 17 Alabama counties. In highly documented cases, residents were contracting infections such as hookworm, more commonly associated with developing countries in the global south, amid a lack of proper, expensive septic systems. There's just so many programs that help neighborhoods be better places to live that states and communities were counting on. – Ryan Hathaway, director of environment and climate justice at Lawyers for Good Government CleanAIRE NC, which works to address air pollution across North Carolina, was slated to install 40 air monitors across four low-income white, Black and Hispanic communities in north Mecklenburg County. But about two weeks ago, the group's $500,000 grant was terminated. The team had used less than half of the funds, and planned to train 'air keepers' to track and monitor air quality. One of the communities included a historic Black neighborhood near old asbestos factories and at the convergence of freeways and industrial complexes, said Executive Director Jeffrey Robbins. Many residents there struggle with asthma and heart disease, he added. It's 'sad that we're at this juncture,' Robbins said. 'But we're going to continue to battle and fight for information and the science behind it, and for the communities that are being impacted.' Dr. Lisa Patel, a Bay Area pediatric hospitalist and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, noted that pollution affects babies' health even before they're born. 'The children that I worry about the most are the ones that are placed at a disadvantage before they've even drawn first breath,' she said. 'Fossil fuel pollution crosses the placenta, enters the developing fetus. And so essentially, children are born pre-polluted, and there's a higher risk of that if you live in these neighborhoods that tend to be systemically divested.' Patel said that organizations her group's research has helped are 'trying to find ways to ensure that kids can have a healthy start.' 'And that's the money that's being taken away,' she said. Some states have their own environmental justice agencies or laws and have filed motions to challenge the Trump administration's direction. Others are continuing to lean on their own agency strategies amid the chaos. The Massachusetts Department of Health, for example, was awarded a $191,000 grant for an asthma control project, another grant targeted for elimination. In response to an interview request, an official with the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said in a statement that the agency will 'continue to invest in communities facing environmental challenges and extreme weather events.' 'We're dedicated to promoting environmental justice and equity by breaking down barriers and creating economic opportunities for communities hit hard by pollution and climate change,' wrote Maria Belen Power, the office's undersecretary of environmental justice and equity. Climate disasters are on the rise. These states want to make oil companies pay. Massachusetts, New Jersey and several other states filed a motion to defend a federal chemical accident safety rule. The attorneys general say the rule is a crucial tool to protect vulnerable communities near chemical manufacturing plants. In 2020, New Jersey enacted a landmark law requiring the state to evaluate environmental and public health impacts of facilities on overburdened communities. The law mandates permit denials if the facilities cannot avoid disproportionate impacts on the surrounding communities already deemed overburdened by industry. The state also uses an environmental public health and environmental justice tracking tool. 'Our [environmental justice] law and our rules are being appealed before our intermediate appellate court right now. There are some industry players who are concerned that it will scare away business,' Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey's commissioner of environmental protection, told Stateline. But LaTourette said the state is not pausing its environmental justice efforts in the meantime. Meanwhile, Hathaway's group, Lawyers for Good Government, is hearing from many organizations with unfinished efforts. 'Be it EV charging station infrastructure or improving bus idling in the cities,' Hathaway said. 'There's just so many programs that help neighborhoods be better places to live that states and communities were counting on.' Abigail Fleming, associate director of the University of Miami's Environmental Justice Clinic at the School of Law, said many groups the clinic works with have had their federal grants frozen, including grants toward air monitoring in Miami-Dade County and cleaner water. 'There was so much excitement about some of the future of these projects and what they could conquer,' Fleming said. For Edmond, the St. Petersburg resident, that momentum isn't over. 'We need to do it with or without the federal dollars,' he said. Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FEMA to end BRIC program, impacting Savannah storm upgrades
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will end its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, impacting the City of Savannah's storm upgrades. The BRIC Program was announced in 2024 as part of the Biden Administration's Justice40 initiative, meant to address decades of underinvestment in disadvantaged communities. The City of Savannah received $30 Million from the program in 2023 for improvements to the Springfield Canal. The grant was allocated in phases. The City is currently in Phase 1 Design/Surveying and has been obligated $2,878,405 with a local match of $1,079,420. The total cost for Springfield Canal improvements is estimated at $42 million, according to a city spokesperson. On April 4, 2025, FEMA announced that the 'wasteful, politicized' grant program would end and that all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023 would be cancelled. 'The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program,' said a FEMA spokesperson. 'It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters. Under Secretary Noem's leadership, we are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need.' The City of Savannah spokesperson added that staff is reviewing the implications of the program's dissolution and have arranged meetings with Rep. Buddy Carter and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to update them on the grant status, share the impacts related to FEMA's decision and community benefits of the project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
