By Audrey Streb (Heartlander News)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday that Biden-era climate grants are canceled “litigation aside” and that anyone holding the money should return it to the federal government.
The Biden administration’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), created in 2022 under the Inflation Reduction Act, was designed to help finance clean energy projects in low-income communities. After billions of dollars were awarded to politically connected nonprofits, the program came under investigation by the EPA’s inspector general, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Litigation has continued since the Trump EPA froze the Citibank accounts holding most of the program’s funds. Several grantees sued the EPA and Citibank, arguing that the Biden EPA had acted appropriately in distributing the money.
A federal appeals court ruled Oct. 9 that a court-ordered stay does not cover money one grantee moved out before the stay took effect.