CLEAN AIR COUNCIL DISPUTES TERMINATION OF EPA GRANT FOR COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING PROJECT
PHILADELPHIA, PA (Friday, April 11) – Yesterday, Clean Air Council filed a Dispute of the termination of a Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant which would have enabled the Council to respond to health concerns of Delaware City, DE communities by providing concrete services. The $490,912 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Cooperative Agreement grant was meant to establish air quality monitoring and help organize communities to study and protect themselves from air pollution emissions from the Delaware City Refinery.
On March 12, 2025, EPA notified the Council in a form letter that EPA had terminated the CPS grant without specifying which of several factors allegedly applied. The letter stated only that the grant allegedly:
“provides funding for programs that promote or take part in DEI initiatives or environmental justice initiatives or other initiatives that conflict with the Agency’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in performing our statutory functions; that are not free from fraud, abuse, waste, or duplication; or that otherwise fail to serve the best interests of the United States. The grant is therefore inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, Agency priorities.”
Approximately 400 federal grants around the country were similarly terminated.
“We are disputing this unlawful decision because we remain committed to fighting for the Delaware City communities served through this grant,” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “The communities around the Refinery have long endured health, economic, and social harms from the Refinery’s air pollution emissions, and we will do everything in our power to continue to advocate for their rights to clean air, pure water, and a livable climate despite our grant being wrongly terminated.”
The grant, welcomed by the community, promised to provide the following: (1) setting up air quality monitors; (2) analyzing the data with community members; (3) assisting in community organizing; and (4) helping residents and community organizations to develop emergency response plans in case of an emergency caused by the Refinery, such as an accident causing a sudden large release of toxic air pollution.
