Federal government suspends $20 million EPA grant to Evansville
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In December, Evansville announced it had been awarded a $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to help the city promote a variety of low-emission modes of transportation.
But this week when the money was supposed to be available, the city found it can’t access the funds. Evansville now sits in limbo as it waits to learn whether the grant is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s crusade against federal bureaucracy.
Joe Atkinson, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Terry’s office, told Inside INdiana Business the funds are currently in a federal account, but the city of Evansville cannot access them because they’re marked as “suspended,” not “active.”
“We have not received any information as to why they are listed as “suspended,” exactly what that means, or how long it will remain that way,” Atkinson said in an email. “City officials have been reaching out to the EPA and other federal contacts today in search of those answers, but have yet to receive a response. Obviously, we hope this is temporary, as several significant projects…are reliant on these funds. But at this moment, we do not know, and are awaiting guidance from the federal government.”
The $20 million Community Change Grant is part of EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and was made possible by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Legislation.
Though city officials say they haven’t been told why the grant money is being withheld, it is clear President Trump’s administration is eliminating lots of programs and positions within the EPA that are labeled as “environmental justice”
Last week, CBS News obtained a memo outlining the moves by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin closed the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights in Washington D.C., laying off over 160 workers. The New York Times reports other Community Change Grant recipients are also seeing funds marked as “suspended” and are unable to access them.
Evansville said it planned to use the grant money to fund a number of connected initiatives to improve the overall sustainability and accessibility of transportation in the city. The city plans to develop 15 mobility hubs along the city’s existing public transit routes and expand the METS Micro Transit program to 16 EV or hybrid, ADA-accessible vans. The micro transit program is essentially a city-run alternative to Uber or Lyft, where people (primarily those with disabilities or mobility issues) can order a ride without taking the bus.
Other projects receiving funding are:
- Improving 4.1 miles of city sidewalks for ADA accessibility, and for walking and biking
- Installing 62 public EV charging stations at various locations.
- Expanding the Upgrade bikeshare system to include 100 E-bikes, with 1,000 free annual memberships for city residents to utilize unlimited 30 min. rides.
- Installing solar panels on the METS administration building and bus terminal to further lower emissions of our public transit.
- Conducting a community-wide education and outreach campaign to increase utilization of cleaner transportation options and awareness of their impact on air quality.
- Conducting a free annual community event to promote EVs and other low emission vehicles.