BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A federal judge found the Trump administration unlawfully froze federal grant funding appropriated by Congress, including roughly $20 million to assist water quality restoration projects in Brunswick County.
READ MORE: Brunswick County awarded $20M EPA grant to mitigate lead pollution, preserve wetlands
ALSO: Human rights organization urges Brunswick County to prioritize residents’ clean water access
Judge Mary McElroy of the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island ruled Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Office of Budget and Management, and other agencies must take immediate steps to unfreeze grant funding awarded to nonprofits through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
In January, the Trump administration issued an executive order and Office of Budget and Management memorandum directing federal agencies to freeze the funds. The order was part of a larger effort to block federal spending that triggered numerous lawsuits, including a January suit filed by Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 22 other states.
Multiple federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to resume funding in recent months. In her Tuesday order, McElroy described relief to grant recipients so far as “piecemeal and limited” despite past rulings finding the Trump administration unconstitutionally blocked funds allocated by Congress.
McElroy, a 2019 Trump appointee, found agencies failed to justify broad, indefinite freezes on project funding or consider harm it would cause recipients.
“The court wants to be crystal clear: elections have consequences and the President is entitled to enact his agenda,” McElroy wrote. “The judiciary does not and cannot decide whether his policies are sound. But where federal courts are constitutionally required to weigh in are cases about the procedure that the government follows in trying to enact those policies. Agencies do not have unlimited authority to further a president’s agenda.”
The paused grants include the Environmental Protection Agency’s $20 million Community Change Grant Award for nonprofits Democracy Green and the Working Lands Trust. Announced in December, the grant is primarily focused on helping communities in Supply, Ash, and Longwood reduce toxic lead contamination by replacing pipelines and fixtures. The funds are provided through a $1.6-billion Inflation Reduction Act program meant to assist disadvantaged communities reduce pollution and address climate challenges.
“Brunswick County is very pleased that the EPA has awarded funding for these initiatives that will benefit hundreds of families and our county for years to come,” Brunswick Commission chair Mike Forte said in a press release. “Grant opportunities like these are a unique way to address the pressing challenges our community faces without burdening our residents, customers, and property owners with additional expenses. We commend these two nonprofits for their efforts and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition thanks to this EPA grant.”
A 2021 UNC study of 826 wells in Brunswick County found 10 above-maximum contaminant levels of 15 parts per billion; the most contaminated well contained lead at 104 ppb. Because private wells are largely unregulated under state law, there is limited available data on contamination throughout the state.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin told the Washington Free Beacon last month he believed the Brunswick County grant represented the Biden administration’s “lack of accountability.”
The outlet mocked Democracy Green founder La’Meshia Whittington’s Afro-Indigenous ancestry, argued the nonprofit had insufficient experience for involvement in the project, and suggested it was awarded funds due to political associations with the Biden administration.
The Washington Free Beacon only focused on Democracy Green’s involvement in the project. Working Lands Trust — the lead applicant for the grant — is responsible for receipt and expenditure of funds, overall management, performance, oversight, and reporting responsibilities, according to the Community Change Grant application form.
Democracy Green sent a letter to Zeldin disputing Washington Free Beacon’s claims and is considering filing a defamation suit against the online publication.
The Washington Free Beacon describes itself as an investigative conservative outlet devoted to “combat journalism.” However, the outlet pays intelligence firms to do its research.
“Since its launch in February of 2012, the Washington Free Beacon has retained third party firms to conduct research on many individuals and institutions of interest to us and our readers,” Washington Free Beacon founder Michael Goldfarb and editor Matthew Continetti wrote in a 2017 article.
During a 2017 congressional committee hearing, Goldfarb said the outlet is primarily funded by hedge fund billionaire and Elliott Management president Paul Singer. Goldfarb admitted the Washington Free Beacon paid strategic intelligence firm Fusion GPS $50,000 a month to investigate Trump’s financial history and connections to Russia. At the time, Singer was backing Republican candidate Sen. Marco Rubio.
Washington Free Beacon denies involvement with the Steele Dossier, Fusion GPS’ largely discredited opposition research report focused on connections between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Goldfarb said in a 2017 congressional hearing the outlet retained Fusion GPS’ services through February 2017, but terminated its relationship after BuzzFeed published the Steele Dossier in January of that year.
Port City Daily reached out to the Washington Free Beacon and reporter Thomas Catenacci to ask if it has a response to Democracy Green’s letter, if it has any ethics or conflict of interest policy, and why it did not disclose its financial connections to Zeldin — its interviewee in the article.
Campaign finance nonprofit OpenSecrets lists Elliott Management — whose president and founder is Washington Free Beacon’s primary funding source — as Zeldin’s sixth highest donor during his time in Congress.
Washington Free Beacon was founded as a project of the Center for American Freedom. The Center for American Freedom is part of the America First Policy Institute, a consulting client of Zeldin’s firm Zeldin Strategies.
In his financial disclosures, Zeldin noted he wrote paid op-eds for lobbying and public relations firms including DCI Group. Singer has retained the firm for large-scale public influence operations; U.S. officials are currently investigating DCI Group’s role in alleged hacking operations targeting Elliott Management and Exxon’s opponents, including providing hacked materials to Washington Free Beacon.
Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.
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