A US judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from recovering grant funds issued as part of a $20bn (R365.43bn) climate funding programme Republican President Donald Trump's administration has moved to terminate.
US district judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington issued a temporary restraining order halting the EPA's termination of three environmental NPOs' grant agreements and barring Citibank from dispersing grant funding held at the bank in their accounts.
Chutkan said the EPA failed to take the legally required steps necessary to terminate grants worth a combined $14bn (R255bn) awarded to Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities.
She said while the EPA claimed it terminated the grants due to “substantial concerns” about fraud, waste and abuse, it provided only “vague and unsubstantiated assertions” to back up those claims.
Without a court order preserving the status quo as the litigation proceeds, Chutkan said those groups would face imminent harm if Citibank transferred money they use to pay employees, rent and fund projects.
“If Citibank transfers money out of these accounts the funds will not be recoverable,” wrote Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama.
The EPA and Citigroup, Citibank's parent company, did not respond to requests for comment.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin publicised his campaign to claw back money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which congress authorised in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act during former Democratic US president Joe Biden's tenure in 2022 to kick-start projects aimed at curbing pollution.
The EPA under Zeldin's watch has maintained that the programme did not align with the agency's priorities and it cited concerns about potential fraud, waste and abuse. Zeldin has said the FBI and justice department are also investigating.
Their grant funding was required to be held at Citibank. The three NPOs sued last week to challenge the EPA's termination of their grants and Citibank's withholding of the money, arguing the agency's decisions were arbitrary.
Climate United CEO Beth Bafford called Tuesday's ruling “a strong step in the right direction” and said the organisation would work in the coming weeks towards a long-term solution.
Reuters
Judge blocks Trump's EPA from clawing back climate grants
Image: 123RF\Sarayutsy/ File photo
A US judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from recovering grant funds issued as part of a $20bn (R365.43bn) climate funding programme Republican President Donald Trump's administration has moved to terminate.
US district judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington issued a temporary restraining order halting the EPA's termination of three environmental NPOs' grant agreements and barring Citibank from dispersing grant funding held at the bank in their accounts.
Chutkan said the EPA failed to take the legally required steps necessary to terminate grants worth a combined $14bn (R255bn) awarded to Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities.
She said while the EPA claimed it terminated the grants due to “substantial concerns” about fraud, waste and abuse, it provided only “vague and unsubstantiated assertions” to back up those claims.
Without a court order preserving the status quo as the litigation proceeds, Chutkan said those groups would face imminent harm if Citibank transferred money they use to pay employees, rent and fund projects.
“If Citibank transfers money out of these accounts the funds will not be recoverable,” wrote Chutkan, an appointee of former Democratic president Barack Obama.
The EPA and Citigroup, Citibank's parent company, did not respond to requests for comment.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin publicised his campaign to claw back money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which congress authorised in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act during former Democratic US president Joe Biden's tenure in 2022 to kick-start projects aimed at curbing pollution.
The EPA under Zeldin's watch has maintained that the programme did not align with the agency's priorities and it cited concerns about potential fraud, waste and abuse. Zeldin has said the FBI and justice department are also investigating.
Their grant funding was required to be held at Citibank. The three NPOs sued last week to challenge the EPA's termination of their grants and Citibank's withholding of the money, arguing the agency's decisions were arbitrary.
Climate United CEO Beth Bafford called Tuesday's ruling “a strong step in the right direction” and said the organisation would work in the coming weeks towards a long-term solution.
Reuters
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