Amid a flurry of executive orders from President Donald Trump affecting our region, we look at what his order involving programs funded by two major Biden-era laws and congressional proposals could mean for our communities. 

Over the past few years, farmers, town council members, pastors, school administrators, community members and many more local leaders across Appalachia have been pursuing opportunities to upgrade their buildings, improve local services and quality of life, and cut energy bills through investments in solar, wind and energy efficiency. These efforts have spurred jobs in construction, energy, mine cleanup and related fields. 

Some of these projects are just getting started, such as a new EPA grant awarded to the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority to create a resilience hub at the former Haysi High School and a new EPA grant awarded to the Tennessee office of Trust for Public Land and the city of Chattanooga to develop a network trails, greenspaces and stormwater and floodplain management solutions, both funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Others are midstream, like in Pound, Virginia, where contractors are demolishing an asbestos-riddled bank building as part of a community-driven effort to revitalize downtown and mitigate flooding — the Inflation Reduction Act paid for the structural engineer. 

In other places, work is well underway: hundreds of millions of dollars allocated through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have already gone toward abandoned mine cleanup in Appalachia, where projects include protecting residential communities from landslides at old mine sites and cleaning up coal waste piles that pollute our rivers. And more farmers and rural business owners are making energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades through the wildly successful Rural Energy for America Program, which received a funding boost from the Inflation Reduction Act.

But presently there are questions about the future of these popular initiatives. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders and memoranda to jump-start his agenda. Additionally, in January, members of Congress released a list of “spending reforms options” that includes discontinuing certain programs from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and repealing IRA energy grants. There’s some confusion about the impact of one of the executive orders, especially for projects that relate to energy, as well as Congress’s ability to take back grant funding that has already been awarded under those BIL and IRA programs.

Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order issued on Jan. 20 stated it would pause funding secured through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These two laws fund many of the programs that are helping Appalachian communities diversify their economies and enhance their resilience to disasters with renewable energy and efficiency projects. 

But a memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget soon after significantly narrows the scope of that “pause,” saying it applies only to programs and projects that are in conflict with policies set out in the order. The policies broadly focus on increasing domestic energy production, limiting federal electric vehicle incentives and restricting energy efficiency standards for household appliances. It’s still unclear how agencies will interpret both the executive order and the clarifying memo, but certain programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy have already reportedly been frozen. 

What is clear is that funding from the IRA and infrastructure laws has been — and will hopefully continue to be — put to good use by Appalachian communities to help them adopt more sustainable and resilient energy systems. 

“Across Appalachia, churches, schools, small towns and rural counties have pursued the opportunity through these programs to save money by adopting newer, cleaner and more efficient energy technologies,” Executive Director Tom Cormons said in a Jan. 21 press statement.  

Cormons underscored that these are common-sense investments that are boosting local economies; creating jobs in construction, clean energy, mine land cleanup and other fields; enhancing energy reliability; saving money for local institutions and cutting pollution in rural, low-income and other underserved communities.

No matter how the executive order and memo impacts shake out over the coming weeks and months, all of these transformative programs from the BIL and IRA are still at risk of rollbacks by Congress. 

Appalachian communities have been at the forefront of advocating for many of the programs now facing uncertainty, and have helped lead the way in seizing these opportunities. We’re committed to making sure our communities receive the investments they were promised. We’re also working to keep the door open for more of our communities — including those impacted by Hurricane Helene and other recent severe floods — to benefit from projects like putting solar panels and batteries on municipal buildings to provide secure, reliable power in extreme weather and reduce power bills. 

Trump also issued an executive order that targets programs seeking to ensure that communities that have been left behind are given a fair shot at a thriving future. That order eliminates environmental justice programs as well as other positions and offices that serve underrepresented communities. Trump also rescinded an executive order that established new federal programs to support economic growth and environmental health and safety in coal mining and power plant communities and other disadvantaged communities.

Appalachia is a vast region, and the communities we serve have a wide range of needs and priorities. But what unites us is care for our neighbors and our land and a desire for healthy communities where our water is clean, the air is fresh and we all have an opportunity to thrive. In the coming years, just as we did in the last four, we’ll come together to put those values into action. 

As the dust settles and more clarity comes about the intent and ramifications of many of these Day One executive orders, we will continue to elevate the importance of programs that have brought hopes for a brighter future to many places that have felt left out of America’s 21st century economy. We’ll be calling on supporters of these projects to join us in defending these opportunities and ensuring that the new administration and Congress allow our communities to sustain their momentum toward a brighter future.