Today marks the initiation of a new class action lawsuit, Appalachian Voices v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in federal court in Washington, D.C. This case challenges the arbitrary and unlawful termination of an entire class of federal grants awarded to recipients across the United States who are doing impactful, place-based work. Through this action, we are proud to be joining our co-plaintiffs and our attorneys in standing up for the communities and environment where we work — and, very importantly, the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.

We are honored to be represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center — a trusted, long-time partner in our efforts to stand up for the health of our environment and communities in Appalachia and the Southeast — and we’re grateful to the organizations providing co-counsel on the case as well: Earthjustice, the Public Rights Project and Lawyers for Good Government.

I want to share some thoughts about this major nationwide action, brought by Appalachian Voices and 22 other named plaintiffs throughout the country whose work with communities to improve conditions on the ground has been severely impacted by the agency’s attempt to arbitrarily claw back awarded federal funds granted through the EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program. These important programs, established and funded by an act of Congress, are intended to give back to places that have disproportionately experienced pollution and environmental degradation, and have been historically underrepresented and under-resourced.

Appalachian Voices is one of over 350 grantees nationwide who lost support from these block grants due to the Trump administration EPA’s wholesale termination of these awards without cause. We are asking for the reversal of these terminations, and requesting the restoration of these grants that were awarded through a rigorous, competitive process. Appalachian Voices received an Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Grant in 2023 to partner with five localities in rural Southwest Virginia to develop plans for sustainable infrastructure supporting environmental and community health and well-being, extreme weather resilience, and local economies. 

These historically energy-producing communities, which have done so much for the country, are working hard to adapt to the decline of the coal industry. Appalachian Voices’ work with them stems from our conviction that the people who call a place home should be at the forefront of shaping its future. Across 15 community meetings, nearly 300 local residents helped create and prioritize local project plans. We’ve gotten excellent traction together, and we and these five communities are doing our best to continue this work. But the EPA’s termination of our grant earlier this year is a big setback. The future of this work depends upon the reinstatement of the funds we were awarded. Read more about our progress and where things stand with these Community Strong projects.

America’s support for homegrown, local solutions to serious problems is crucially important. That’s why Congress included the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program in the Inflation Reduction Act. And we are happy to be going to bat, not just for our own grant and the communities it serves, but for this program as a whole that supports similar work in rural communities, cities and suburbs from coast to coast.

But any discussion of this lawsuit would be incomplete if it did not also reflect on the foundational American principles to which we are proud to be appealing in Appalachian Voices v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Under our three branches of government, the courts will not be deciding whether or not Congress did the right thing by establishing this grant program in law. Instead, the case is based on the fact that this grant program is the law. Congress made the law, and it is the EPA’s job to follow the law and implement it. In short, we are standing up with our attorneys and partners in this case for the basic tenets of our Constitution and the rule of law required for a healthy democracy and a functional society. We believe this is an important part of our role as a trusted civil society organization, and we want to thank all of our partners and supporters who make it possible for us to take this on.

Sincerely,

Tom Cormons
Executive Director
Appalachian Voices