Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Late last month, yet another lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal programs scored a victory when a U.S. Court Judge ruled that the Administration acted illegally in halting Congressionally-approved funds for the Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program under the US EPA. $180 million in funding for environmental justice will now be released.
That includes $60 million for the Minneapolis Foundation, a major Twin Cities nonprofit that has worked with other organizations to improve the quality of life in the communities it serves for more than 100 years.
In 2023, the EPA approved funding to the Minneapolis Foundation to support a wide variety of environmental justice efforts through various subgrantees around the Midwest. One of the overall goals of the Thriving Communities program was to help small local organizations tap into new funding streams – both at the state and federal level – to support their environmental justice work.
To MEP, that looked like a perfect match. Working closely with the ENRTF Community Grants Working Group, MEP submitted an application on the group’s behalf to fund outreach around the new grant program. This project would provide subgrants to five partner organizations to help them connect within their communities.
While MEP has a direct stake in this funding, our relief that the Thriving Community funds have been released is greater than that. Because of this funding, folks around our region will have greater access to drinking water safe from lead, breathe cleaner air, and enjoy increased safety from climate impacts.
This court victory also reinforces an important principle that we’ve seen play out on numerous occasions over the past few months: the Executive Branch cannot arbitrarily strip away funding allocated by Congress just because officials disagree with its “ideology.” Congress passed funding for Thriving Communities because of the facts: disadvantaged communities all across America, including Minnesota, face disparate impacts of pollution and climate change.
It looks likely that in some form or another, the Federal Government is likely to reduce its funding for environmental justice efforts going forward. MEP will continue to speak out against those cuts. In the meantime, the role of organizations like the Minneapolis Foundation will be critical in bringing projects like air pollution prevention, lead service line replacement, and climate mitigation to our communities. Now more than ever, we will not give up on our efforts to make sure that all Minnesotans can enjoy clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment.