EPA Releases Statement Following Favorable D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a statement following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit favorable decision in support of EPA’s termination of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) grants.
“It’s fantastic to see reason prevail in the court system. EPA has a duty to be an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars. Administrator Zeldin cancelled these grants due to well documented concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest, unqualified recipients, and intentionally reduced agency oversight. The gold bar recipients were wrong about jurisdiction all along and wrong to act so entitled to these precious public funds that belong to hardworking American taxpayers.”
As the opinion states,
- “The month before President Trump’s inauguration, EPA modified the grant agreements—with no apparent consideration from the grantees—to make it more difficult for the government to terminate the grants.”
- “[N]othing in the Inflation Reduction Act prevented EPA from taking care that the grant programs be faithfully executed…. [T]his preliminary injunction … bar[red] EPA from carrying out basic executive functions to ensure the prudent and effective management of substantial public funds.”
- “The district court also ignored the government’s evidence of mismanagement of the grant funds, such as the damning ‘gold bars’ video, which further supports EPA’s good faith in deciding to terminate the grants and recommit the funds with proper supervision and accountability.”
- “Our jurisdiction, however, rests on law, not on the severity of the alleged wrongdoing claimed by the grantees and reported by The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Politico.”
Background:
In March, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin notified National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator recipients of the termination of their grant agreements under the Biden-Harris Administration’s $20 billion “gold bar” approach to implementing GGRF. This termination was based on substantial concerns regarding the GGRF program integrity, the award process, wasteful spending, and misalignment with agency’s priorities, which collectively undermine the fundamental goals and statutory objectives of the award. Following a comprehensive review and consistent with multiple ongoing independent federal investigations into the program, EPA identified material deficiencies which pose an unacceptable risk to the lawful execution of these grants. The Biden EPA parked $20 billion dollars at an outside financial institution in a manner that deliberately reduced the ability of EPA to conduct proper oversight. The termination of these grants reflects EPA’s duty to protect public funds and maintain the integrity of its grant programs. The agency is committed to administering taxpayer funding in a transparent and accountable manner with the highest standards of fiscal responsibility.