On June 17, U.S. District Decide Adam B. Abelson granted abstract judgment in favor of Baltimore-based nonprofit Inexperienced & Wholesome Properties Initiative and two co-plaintiff organizations of their problem to the U.S. Environmental Safety Company’s termination of $180 million in grants beneath the Thriving Communities Program, which helps community-based environmental and public well being tasks. GHHI, which seeks to guard public well being and advance housing stability in economically challenged communities, is represented by Brown, Goldstein & Levy companions Joshua N. Auerbach, Andrew D. Freeman, and Neel Okay. Lalchandani.
GHHI and co-plaintiffs the Minneapolis Basis and Philanthropy Northwest have been chosen by the EPA in 2023 to function regional grantmakers, accountable for awarding subgrants to native and tribal authorities companies and community-based organizations endeavor environmental and public well being tasks. Congress appropriated funds for these “environmental and local weather justice block grants” for “deprived communities” in amendments to the Clear Air Act, enacted as a part of the Inflation Discount Act of 2022. Eligible tasks embody community-led air and different air pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation; investments in low- and zero-emission resilient applied sciences and associated infrastructure; and mitigating local weather and well being dangers from city warmth islands, excessive warmth, wooden heater emissions, and wildfire occasions. Subgrants have been awarded to assist the remediation of lead and poisonous chemical contamination in public parks and different group venues, the modernization of wastewater remedy processes in rural communities, reductions in extreme wildfire danger in fire-prone areas, and quite a few different tasks.
In February 2025, the EPA despatched termination notices to GHHI and different organizations, citing a brand new “company precedence” to not assist “applications or organizations that promote or participate in . . . ‘environmental justice’ initiatives.” These notices have been kinds developed by EPA’s new management that gave no significant rationalization for EPA’s choice to terminate the grants. The EPA despatched just about equivalent kind notices to a whole bunch of grantees working beneath a variety of applications. GHHI and its co-plaintiffs alleged that EPA’s actions have been opposite to key provisions of the Clear Air Act and violated the Administrative Process Act.
In a 48-page opinion, the court docket agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that the EPA overstepped its statutory authority by terminating the grants. “Congress expressly required EPA to make use of [] appropriated funds for ‘environmental justice’ applications,” Decide Abelson wrote. “By terminating Plaintiffs’ grants on the premise that present EPA management now not needs to assist ‘environmental justice’ applications, EPA exceeded its authority beneath the Clear Air Act.” The court docket described EPA’s place as “contend[ing] that it has authority to thumb its nostril at Congress and refuse to adjust to its directives.” The court docket additional discovered EPA’s actions to be arbitrary and capricious beneath the Administrative Process Act.
“When EPA terminated these grants based mostly on its newly developed hostility to the idea of ‘environmental justice’ and with out offering any significant rationalization for its actions, it ignored Congress’s directions within the Clear Air Act in addition to its accountability to interact in reasoned decisionmaking,” stated Josh Auerbach. “The court docket’s choice is a essential step in permitting GHHI to get again to the work of serving to native teams tackle critical environmental and public well being dangers in deprived communities throughout our area.”
Learn Decide Abelson’s full opinion right here.
ABOUT JOSHUA N. AUERBACH
Josh Auerbach brings over 20 years of expertise representing shoppers in advanced civil litigation and dealing to broaden entry to well being care and shield shoppers. A lot of Josh’s expertise has been in state and native authorities. On the Workplace of the Legal professional Normal of Maryland, Josh labored each as a litigator and as an adviser to public officers and state companies. His litigation expertise contains main main enforcement actions beneath Maryland’s client safety and false claims legal guidelines, in addition to defending constitutional and administrative legislation challenges to state legal guidelines, laws, and enforcement actions. He started his profession as an affiliate at Brown, Goldstein & Levy and is happy to deliver his expertise again to the agency as a companion. Study extra about Josh.
ABOUT ANDREW D. FREEMAN
Andy Freeman obtains outcomes for his shoppers. A companion at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, he has received quite a few verdicts, judgments and settlements of thousands and thousands, tens of thousands and thousands and in a single case, over one billion {dollars} by mastering the related legislation and attending to know his shoppers, their issues and the proof of their circumstances. Andy has a historical past of successful troublesome circumstances with difficult mixtures of legislation and info or novel authorized points. Study extra about Andy.
ABOUT NEEL Okay. LALCHANDANI
Neel Lalchandani represents people, nonprofits, and corporations in a various array of civil rights and business issues. Amongst different victories for his shoppers, Neel has helped safe a number of of the biggest funds in Maryland historical past for victims of police misconduct, together with greater than $80 million for harmless males imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Study extra about Neel right here.
PLEASE FIND MEDIA COVERAGE BELOW:
Federal choose sides with Baltimore nonprofit over EPA grant cuts | The Each day File (June 24, 2025)
US Decide Guidelines Trump EPA Unlawfully Terminated Environmental Justice Grants | Nationwide Legislation Journal (June 20, 2025)
Decide guidelines EPA termination of environmental justice grants was illegal | Politico (6/18/2025)
Baltimore choose orders EPA to revive $180M in environmental justice grants | The Baltimore Banner (6/17/2025)
EPA Ordered to Rethink Enviro Justice Grant Terminations | Law360 (June 17, 2025)
ABOUT BROWN, GOLDSTEIN & LEVY
Based in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a legislation agency based mostly in Baltimore, Maryland, with an workplace in Washington, DC. The agency is nationally acknowledged in all kinds of follow areas, together with advanced civil and business litigation, civil rights, well being care, household legislation, and legal protection. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered legislation agency that brings many years of expertise and passionate, efficient advocacy to your combat for justice.
