FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date September 2, 2025
CONTACT:
Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate
(509) 429-1699 and epn-press@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
Environmental Protection Network Denounces Ruling in EPA Lawsuit
On August 29, 2025 the U.S. District Court dismissed a motion and denied class certification in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of three billion dollars in Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Block Grants.
Environmental Protection Network Executive Director, Michelle Roos, issued the following statement in response:
“This ruling further delays urgently needed work to address pollution in neighborhoods where children are exposed to lead, families are breathing unhealthy air, and communities remain unprotected from flooding. Over the past three years, EPN has helped hundreds of communities across the country to apply for and implement these grants. We know how much time, planning, and community trust has already been invested and remains at risk. And we know how much economic benefit and health improvements these grants will create.”
“These awards were designed to build lasting local capacity, not to leave grantees stranded in legal limbo and communities suffering from pollution and toxic exposures. The court is creating barriers that will further slow or even prevent progress on life-saving projects. It is truly disturbing that instead of honoring its commitments and letting grantees get to work, the U.S. government continues to force communities into a costly game of legal whack-a-mole that only promises to further delay new jobs, new investments, and a healthier future. We strongly disagree with this decision.”
“Even in the face of this setback, EPN will continue to stand alongside grantees to provide the technical support and expertise they need to keep fighting for families across the country. We will continue to partner with incredible legal experts and litigators, including Lawyers for Good Government, Southern Environmental Law Center, Earthjustice, and Public Rights Project to ensure that EPA fulfills its mission to protect public health and the environment. And we will continue to prepare for a future where the government once again values its constituents over polluters.”
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ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
Founded in 2017, the Environmental Protection Network harnesses the expertise of more than 650 former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former scientists and regulators with decades of historical and subject matter knowledge.