Conservation groups and other nonprofits are taking the Trump administration to court for withholding funds promised to them under federal climate and infrastructure laws.
Their lawsuit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island contends that the funding freeze has left important community projects in limbo.
Among the tied up projects is an initiative to enhance an urban bike path along Rhode Island’s Woonasquatucket River. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the project had been slated to receive a $1 million grant from the Forest Service. That money has been on hold since January, the lawsuit said.
“The federal funding freeze of the IRA funds intended for the project is affecting not only jobs, but workforce training, youth learning and quality of life improvements for all the people we serve and the natural resources we work to improve and protect where they are needed most — in our urban landscapes,” said Alicia Lehrer, executive director of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, in a statement.
