Local environmental projects are using federal funding to tackle challenges from replacing lead pipes for drinking water to monitoring air pollution and from lowering energy costs to extreme weather preparedness. But that funding as allocated by Congress was terminated. So MacArthur grantees Earthjustice, Southern Environmental Law Center, and others in a coalition of nonprofits, Tribes, and local governments filed a class action lawsuit challenging the termination of $3 billion from the Environmental and Climate Justice grant program despite Congressional directives.
Air Alliance Houston, which MacArthur supports, is one of the grant recipients harmed by the terminations, and they noted that the cancelled grants would have helped people reduce air pollution and have a say in decisions that affect their environment and air quality. The class action certification and relief would help 350 grant recipients in every region of the U.S. continue their programs including improving air quality, climate disaster readiness, workforce development, and more.
