NORTH RICHMOND — Months after the Environmental Protection Agency revoked a $19 million grant meant to benefit North Richmond children and other residents, the federal agency is standing by its decision, claiming in a recent letter to Bay Area congressmembers that the project promotes “DEI or environmental justice initiatives” that are counter to Trump administration priorities.
The North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative was set to use the federal grant dollars to build a community center. It would have been run by Urban Tilth, an environmental education provider, and served the community during an emergency or disaster.
The initiative also called for planting 65 trees around Verde Elementary School to help shield children from pollutants, renovating four dilapidated buildings into energy-efficient single family homes, fully electric retrofitting another 40 qualifying homes and demolishing 10 buildings on another piece of land to make way for a community garden and gathering space.
The project was awarded a $19 million Community Change Grant under the Inflation Reduction Act, a President Joe Biden-era bill passed by Democrats that was meant to address climate change, lower health care costs and create jobs. It was one of 105 projects to be selected for a grant.
In April, about two and a half months after President Donald Trump took office, local and state officials learned the grant had been revoked because the application did not align with the new administration’s policy priorities.
U.S. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Richmond, and Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, protested the decision in an April 21 letter, asserting it violated federal appropriations law, federal court orders and the grant contract which was signed Jan. 6. A letter they both received from the EPA dated Aug. 22 clarified the agency’s original decision.
“It is a priority of EPA to eliminate discrimination in all of its programs throughout the United States,” the letter signed by Associate Administrator Sarah Talmage stated. “The grant specified above provides funding for programs that promote or take part in DEl or environmental justice initiatives that conflict with the Agency’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in performing our statutory functions. The grant is therefore inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, Agency priorities.”
Garamendi’s office slammed the decision in a statement Tuesday, calling it “nonsensical” and asserting it will result in “dangerous consequences for our youth.”
“The EPA has made it clear that they would rather jeopardize the health and safety of schoolchildren to appease Trump’s delusional MAGA crusade against a few words. This petty action ignores the proven health benefits of reducing air pollution,” read the statement.
Beyond environmental programs, the Trump administration has taken a number of steps to push back on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in federal agencies – from the military to national parks through cutting spending and signing a slew of executive orders.
Many of those efforts have faced challenges in federal courts that are continuing to play out.
“This program was never discriminatory and was never about politics. It was a hard-fought community grant designed to protect children from harmful air pollution. The EPA once stood for protecting people’s health and safety. Now, under this leadership, its only goal seems to be protecting one man’s ego,” the statement from Garamendi’s office read.
Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, who represents North Richmond, said the loss in funding will now stall a project that would have benefitted a largely Latino and African-American community, calling the decision “racist.”
“They’ve illegally stolen money back from North Richmond that would have benefited the community,” Gioia said. “They say they’re all about being color blind. This is not being color blind. This is targeting communities in need like North Richmond because they are predominantly Latino and African Americans.”
Urban Tilth, the nonprofit partnering with Contra Costa County on the North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.