Environment · Public Policy·May 17, 2025
EPA cancels 400 environmental justice grants worth $1.7 billion
Federal courts rule EPA terminations violated Clean Air Act and APA, $180 million restored
On May 17, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin canceled more than 400 environmental justice grants totaling $1.7 billion (Stateline: Environmental Justice Grant Cancellations)
Executive Order 12898, signed by President Clinton in 1994, directed federal agencies to address “disproportionately high” health and environmental effects on minority and low-income populations (Scientific American: Environmental Justice Order Revocation)
Over 90% of people living within one mile of the Denka synthetic rubber plant in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” are Black, and the plant emits chloroprene, which the EPA lists as a likely carcinogen (Reuters: EPA Environmental Justice Rollback; Reuters: Cancer Alley Chemical Emissions)
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