IN THE SAME week a federal judge reiterated his order that all federal funding be disbursed as appropriated by Congress, yet more grants – the latest targeting emissions from diesel engines – became unavailable to Massachusetts state agencies as part of the Trump administration’s funding freeze, according to state officials.
Three grants that are administered through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection have been marked “suspended” as of February 13 in the federal funding portal that states use to request allocated funds. These grants — the State Clean Diesel Grant, the Diesel Emission Reduction Act Program, and the Clean Diesel Grant – represent over $3 million in total funding and have been withheld despite a federal judge’s order that all frozen funding be restored immediately.
All three grants are part of a federal law, the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, and are given out through the US Environmental Protection Agency. Molly Vaseliou, a spokesperson for the agency, said in an emailed statement the EPA has acted in accordance with the court order and had reinstated funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act by February 4. Vaseliou did not explain why Massachusetts officials couldn’t access certain funds but added that “EPA personnel have identified certain grants programs as having potential inconsistencies with necessary financial and oversight procedural requirements or grant conditions of awards or programs.”
Diesel fuel tends to be used in trucks, buses, SUVs, vans, and other vehicles. Clean diesel grant programs aim to reduce emissions from diesel fuels which are refined from crude oil by incentivizing owners of diesel vehicles to purchase new, cleaner vehicles and engines or retrofit more efficient engines into older vehicles. The program also funds idling reduction technologies for vehicles and engines. Exposure to diesel exhaust can cause serious health conditions like asthma and respiratory illnesses. As with other fossil fuels, burning diesel also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to the global climate crisis.
One of President Trump’s first actions in office was to issue an executive order that directed his administration to withhold hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for different environmental and infrastructure projects. A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze on January 31 after attorneys general in 22 states – including Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell – and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit to block the executive order.
However, the Trump administration has continued to withhold funds. As of today, in addition to the clean diesel grants, the state cannot access funds for Solar for All, the state energy program that’s funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and two air monitoring programs. Solar for All is the biggest program that is currently suspended with a total grant of $156 million. Together, the total of the frozen grants is about $168 million.
Governor Maura Healey spoke about the ongoing impact that the federal funding freeze has had on the state on GBH’s Boston Public Radio on February 7.
“Even today as we speak we have not had funding turned back on for a number of areas,” said Healey. “And that is very disruptive. It’s harmful to our state, our residents, to our businesses, and to our economy. That unfortunately is what we find ourselves up against right now.”
Barbara Kates-Garnick, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and the former Undersecretary of Energy for the state said the funding freezes will make it really difficult for states to plan climate policy.
“This impacts our climate goals enormously because finding sources of funding is part of your planning process at the state level,” said Kates-Garnick. “You set your goals with that plan in mind and now these grants get withdrawn and everything is upended. In the short term, it’s very difficult to figure out another way to make up all of this missing money.”
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources both submitted declarations to the federal court on February 6 citing the harm that withholding the grants would cause to “public health, public safety, and the environment, as well as to the public welfare in economic effects from these programs.”
“While MassDEP would strive to seek replacement funding for the important programs supported by these federal grants, replacing this magnitude of funds would be virtually impossible, particularly with the required expediency given that much work is already underway, or critical to perform immediately,” said Bonnie Heiple, the head of the Massachusetts DEP, in her declaration.
The attorney general promised to keep fighting the funding freeze and defending the judge’s temporary restraining order.
“The Court’s order is clear: the Trump Administration cannot continue to freeze essential funding while our case proceeds,” said a spokesperson for Campbell’s office. “This coalition of attorneys general will continue fighting to safeguard these vital resources and hold the Administration accountable for violations of the law.”
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