A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from ending the $14 billion grant awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration.
US District Judge Tonya Chutkan ruled that the federal government's “inadequate to the vague and unfounded claims of fraud.” The order prevented the EPA from terminating the grant program, totaling $20 billion. The judge also blocked Citibank, which holds money on behalf of the EPA, and blocked it from transferring it to the government or anyone else.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin claimed that the grant recipient was engaged in fraud management, fraud and self-dealing, and announced that he had frozen and moved to end the grant, but the judge said Zeldin's allegations were inadequate.
“At this point, the EPA defendants have not fully explained why the reason for unilaterally terminating plaintiff grants is a reasonable precursor to considering the Green Bank program,” the Chatkan wrote.
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The EPA has blocked the federal judge from terminating the $14 billion grant awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration. (istock)
The grant recipient sued Zeldin and Citibank by the EPA, claiming they illegally denied access to the $14 billion awarded last year through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly known as the “Green Bank.” The program consists of two initiatives worth $14 billion and $6 billion respectively, and was approved by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, supporting clean energy and climate-friendly projects.
Three groups from Climate United, a coalition of Green Capital and the Power Forward Communities, said the freeze grant prevented them from funding new projects and prevented them from firing staff. The group said the false funding allegations were worthless.
The group also asked Chutkan to order Citibank to unsubscribe from the account, but the judge declined. The order simply maintains the status quo as the case moves forward.
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EPA administrator Lee Zeldin claimed that grant recipients were engaged in fraud management, fraud and self-dealing. (Getty Images)
Climate United was awarded nearly $7 billion, Green Capital coalition won $5 billion, and Power Forward Communities (a group associated with the Stacey Abrams Democrats) was awarded $2 billion.
Beth Bufford. The CEO of Climate United said the judge's ruling was “a step in the right direction.”
“In the coming weeks, we will continue to work towards long-term solutions, allowing us to invest in projects that will provide energy savings, create jobs and boost American manufacturing in communities across the country,” Bufford said.
Zeldin said on X on Tuesday that the grant was “granted in a way that intentionally reduced the ability of the EPA to properly monitor,” adding that “will not be rested until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the US Treasury Department.”
Zeldin said Tuesday that the grant was awarded “in a way that intentionally reduced the ability of the EPA to properly monitor.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Zeldin describes the grant as a “gold bar” scheme that involves conflicts of interest and potential fraud.
“2 billion taxes have been parked at external financial institutions due to deliberate efforts to limit government oversight. They will drain your money through just eight pass-throughs, politically connected, ineligible, and sometimes brand new NGOs,” Zeldin said in a video previously posted to X.
Climate United claimed that terminations were illegal and that the federal government did not identify evidence of waste, fraud or abuse.
