Trump administration’s cancellation of $1.6 billion in environmental justice grants leaves communities struggling one year later

A year after the Trump administration abruptly canceled over 100 environmental justice grants totaling at least $1.6 billion, communities across America are still grappling with the consequences of losing critical funding for air quality monitoring, flood prevention, and clean energy projects.

The village of Sauget, Illinois—a community of 134 residents literally founded to house polluting industries—exemplifies the ongoing struggle. Local faith leader Darnell Tingle’s organization had secured $500,000 to install air quality monitors around churches near a hazardous waste incinerator, hoping to finally prove connections between industrial pollution and high rates of asthma and other health problems. When the Trump EPA terminated the Community Change Grant program in early 2025, calling it part of the “green new scam,” only two of six planned monitors were installed, leaving the community with incomplete data and unanswered health questions.

The grant cancellations have created a ripple effect nationwide. In Alaska, the village of Kipnuk lost flood prevention funding and was subsequently washed away in flooding. Native communities in South Dakota saw $19.9 million disappear for solar installations and infrastructure improvements. In the South Bronx, flood resilience projects remain stalled.

Environmental advocates describe communities going through “stages of grief”—from disbelief to resignation. Organizations are now competing for dramatically smaller pools of funding, with many forced to scale back operations or abandon projects entirely. While some groups have found alternative funding sources, none match the scale of the terminated federal programs, leaving vulnerable communities to continue facing environmental hazards with limited resources for solutions.