On Monday, March 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments from attorneys representing community-based nonprofits, tribes, and local governments seeking to restore the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program in Appalachian Voices et al v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“This case squarely challenges the elimination of an entire congressionally mandated grant program for policy reasons,” said Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Ben Grillot during his opening statement. “First, Congress created a mandatory grant program. It said EPA shall award $3 billion in grants. Second, plaintiffs pled facts demonstrating that the executive decided to eliminate the entire program.”

Grillot noted that the Trump administration acted to eliminate that program in February 2025 even though the statute that mandated it remains in effect. The Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to fund local projects that address environmental harms and climate change impacts.

“The statute has not been repealed,” he said.

Plaintiffs represented by SELC, Earthjustice, Public Rights Project and Lawyers for Good Government are appealing a U.S. District Court judge’s August 2025 decision to dismiss the class-action case, Appalachian Voices v. EPA. The district court judge had granted the government’s motion arguing that the case belongs in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. 

The plaintiffs contend that the administration’s decision to cancel an entire program enacted and funded by Congress raises important questions under the constitutional separation of powers and the Administrative Procedures Act that are within the district court’s purview. 

“The arbitrary and abrupt cancellation of these grants pulled the rug out from under local environmental projects across the country, disrupting and halting projects that meet the goals set by Congress,” said Appalachian Voices Executive Director Tom Cormons. “Our case is about core constitutional separation of powers and rule of law issues that need to be considered on their merits.” 

Appalachian Voices deployed an Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Grant under the program to partner with residents in five Southwestern Virginia towns to create the Community Strong program. Through listening sessions and other collaborations, we worked with these historic coal communities to plan locally driven initiatives to suport sustainable economies, address environmental challenges and improve quality of life.

The grant program termination complicated ongoing work in these communities.

“Local residents and leaders in the Southwest Virginia mountains put time and energy into planning projects that strengthen their communities while addressing repeated disasters such as flooding, only to have the federal government walk away from its commitment to back this work,” said Appalachian Voices New Economy Program Manager Emma Kelly. 

Despite the setbacks, Appalachian Voices is continuing to partner with these five communities to implement the projects they envisioned.