Key facts
- A U.S. appeals court ruled the EPA cannot block $20 billion in clean energy grants.
- The ruling restores an injunction against the EPA Administrator's decision to terminate the grants.
- The grants were awarded under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established by the Inflation Reduction Act.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin had sought to halt the disbursement of these funds, citing concerns about alignment with agency priorities and potential fraud.
- The court majority found the EPA's effort to terminate the grants likely violated the Inflation Reduction Act.
A divided federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot block approximately $20 billion in clean energy grants awarded to several nonprofit groups. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia restores an injunction against EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's attempt to terminate the funds.
The grants, part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established by the Inflation Reduction Act, were intended to finance renewable energy projects. Zeldin had sought to halt the disbursement of these funds, citing concerns about alignment with agency priorities and potential fraud, waste, and abuse. However, the court's majority found that the EPA's effort to terminate the grants based solely on a policy disagreement likely violated the Inflation Reduction Act. The court also noted the EPA provided no assurance that the funds would be left untouched if the injunction were lifted.
Four judges on the panel dissented, referencing a repealed section of the law that had created the grant program. The disputed funds are currently held by Citibank and were awarded to entities including the Climate United Fund and the Coalition for Green Capital, as well as various U.S. state-sponsored organizations. The decision will be put on hold for several days, giving the EPA time to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.