California Attorney General Rob Bonta has co-led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Earthjustice, Public Rights Project, and Southern Environmental Law Center. The brief is part of a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for terminating the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program. This funding, secured through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), was intended to ensure communities across the nation have access to clean air, safe water, and healthy homes, with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
In their amicus brief, the attorneys general argue that actions taken by the Trump Administration to terminate this grant program will hinder hundreds of local communities from pursuing essential environmental justice and public health projects. “Congress directed these funds to protect public health and address long-standing environmental injustices in communities that have borne the brunt of pollution for decades,” stated Attorney General Bonta. “We are not going to stand by while this administration continues to take illegal action and dismantle environmental justice programs where they are most urgently needed.”
The termination affects more than 200 grantees within the coalition states—including non-profits, local governments, Native American tribes, and educational institutions—who were set to receive over $1.38 billion for combating pollution and improving public health infrastructure. In California alone, at least 40 grantees lost access to over $301 million in EPA funding.
The brief argues that terminating the program disproportionately harms marginalized communities such as Native American tribes and low-income neighborhoods. It contends that halting these projects increases health risks for vulnerable populations and asserts that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in proving that rescinding these grants was unlawful under Congress’s authorization via the IRA.
Attorney General Bonta filed this amicus brief with his counterparts from New York and Massachusetts, joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island Vermont Washington.
A copy of the amicus brief is available online.
