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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Trump administration’s overhaul of federal spending has put at least one local green program on the chopping block, while several others remain in limbo.
Beginning with a sweeping federal funding freeze instituted in late January, President Donald Trump and his administration have been reevaluating federal grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.
One of Trump’s executive orders stalled the disbursement of federal funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 for energy, environmental and infrastructure funds. Environmental efforts in Indianapolis are starting to see an impact.
Jeremy Kranowitz, CEO of nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, or KIB, said this week that it will not receive an expected $400,000 grant it was awarded in a grantmaking process under the Biden-Harris Administration.
The funding, awarded to the local organization by the global nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, was supposed to come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
The Arbor Day Foundation told IBJ in a written statement that the forest service notified it Feb. 14 that it’s national pass-through partnership award “no longer aligns with agency priorities.”
Kranowitz said the Arbor Day Foundation notified Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in an email Monday that the grant would not go through to his organization.
“Right now, we’re focused on helping our sub-awardees find other opportunities to fund their impactful work expected to be supported by the federal grant,” the statment said. “We are already in dialogue with our network of supporters, both individuals and corporate partners, to hopefully help some of these projects still come to fruition.”
Kranowitz said the funds were slated to help KIB fulfill its mission of creating vibrant public greenspaces.
Kranowitz speculated that terms such as “biodiversity” and “tree equity” used on the grant application caused the termination of funds, given Trump’s executive order removing DEI initiatives from the federal government. These terms refer to the importance of having a mix of plant species and tree canopy coverage in areas of cities, respectively, rather than traditional diversity, equity and inclusion ideas.
“I wish this was a joke, but it’s not. This one really stings,” Kranowitz wrote in a LinkedIn post. “The lesson for those writing grants these days is to choose language very carefully.”
However, Trump has also signed an executive order targeting certain environmental efforts, like those promoting electric vehicles. That, coupled with the federal funding freeze, has left environmental funding in flux despite some of those the administration’s efforts being blocked by the courts.
“We’re not a political organization. It doesn’t matter your background, or your faith, or your politics,” Kranowitz said. “We just want folks to come out and work together to make the city a cleaner and greener place.”
Meanwhile, the city of Indianapolis is awaiting news on $30.8 million in grants awarded to or affiliated with the Office of Sustainability. The grants are from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, two programs paused by Trump.
Mo McReynolds presented the status of five federal grants the Office of Sustainability is leading or involved in to the City-County Council Environmental Sustainability Committee on Monday evening.
McReynolds said the slew of January actions from the Trump administration put these funds “potentially in jeopardy.”
The most valuable is a $15 million grant in partnership with the NAACP of Indianapolis that would fund the installation of electric vehicle chargers on public property. The grants are reimbursements. McReynolds, interim director of the Office of Sustainability, said the city has not yet spent money on the program.
McReynolds said the Office of Sustainability was working through grant agreement processes on all five she presented to a council committee on Monday. She said none of them had reached a finalized grant agreement.
That funding also included nearly $14 million toward solar projects from the Solar for All grant program. Indianapolis partnered with the Indiana Community Action Association to conduct a feasibility study on turning a former landfill on the city’s east side into a solar farm. That allotment was $2.8 million.
Another $11.1 million grant went to the Industrial Heartland Coalition, a group of seven states and 16 cities, including Indianapolis. That funding would expand solar access to about 1,000 Indianapolis households.
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madness
Frankly, it is time more of these organizations start suing the Trump administration.
Once a grant is made with lawfully appropriated funds it either becomes a binding contract or a legal obligation under promissory estoppel. These organizations relied on these funds and made plans or even expenditure to their detriment, and the Trump administration cannot just change the rules after the funds were allocated.
I hope this administration gets tied up in endless litigation from now until it is termed out.
So, the liberal mayor allows radical left to burn the city down. It has never fully recovered. But it’s Trumps fault the city is still reeling. Libs have learned nothing.
Donald, Clearly you don’t know what Keep Indianapolis Beautiful does. Which is sad. And to be clear, it IS Trump’s fault that the legal obligation made to KIB, is not being honored. But then, for those of us who know Trump….he isn’t too keen on legal anything.
The city does not “own” KIB. They are a charitable organization separate from the Indianapolis government. These funds were already approved and appropriated for KIB but the conservatives in charge have decided that rules and laws do not apply to them. Remember this when the pendulum inevitably swings in the other direction in a few years. Also, it’s a big tell that you have not been in the city in years – billions in redevelopment currently and in the pipeline – it was never burned down. Touch some grass and go outside of your echo chambers for news.
Shane; perhaps you weren’t here when the businesses downtown were looted and an IU star player was shot and killed? Or maybe it’s you that lives in an echo chamber. We can send you some video.
30.8 million for office of sustainability. someone please tell me what they do? anyone. i will wait.
potholes? because i noticed they aren’t getting filled…
How many Hoosier jobs will be lost as a result of these cuts? Kokomo is benefiting from billion-dollar investments in battery manufacturing for EV’s and Jeffersonville is receiving an $800 million dollar investment for solar manufacturing. Do we really want to pull the rug out from under those job creators by undermining EV’s and solar? It seems that is the path the Trump administration is on.
Sorry Mr. Kranowitz but “Tree Equity” does not refer to a nice mixture of trees within a given area. It is just another made-up term in the growing pile of word salads that libs use to sound like they are making important contributions to society. In this case, I doubt the grant writer even knows what they intended to convey by using this vacuous term. I don’t have a Black Walnut in my yard, am I now an oppressed person and where do I go to demand my fair share of tree equity?