Federal Funding Opportunities and Guidance – March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

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While some of you were still able to advance critical projects to protect public health and the environment during the last few weeks, hundreds of EPA (and other) grantees have been frozen out of their ASAP accounts since approximately March 7, dozens of EPA grants received termination notices, and many more grants are at risk. The good news is that grantees are still winning on the law in court.

If you do three things TODAY to protect your funding, please consider:

  • Filling out Lawyers for Good Government’s Intake Form with your latest grant status to get the most updated templates and to receive 1:1 pro bono legal assistance, litigation information and connections, and technical and communications support. If you filled out L4GG’s intake form in the last week, you can also just email FPC@L4GG.org any recent updates.
  • Registering for our special Federal Grantee Office Hours on Thursday, April 3, from 3-4pm ET to learn more about the current state of EPA funding, plans for future terminations, recent announcements on EPA’s general terms and conditions, and administrative and legal strategies to protect your funding.
  • Sending a letter to your elected officials, using this template, to ask them for their support in protecting and defending your grant. Your voice is needed in this moment!

Updates from the Last Few Weeks

  • On March 19, Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) filed a lawsuit to directly tackle federal freezes on various EPA programs, including the Community Change Grant program, EJ Cooperative Problem Solving/Government to Government agreements, the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant, as well as some other USDA and DOT grant programs. You can view the complaint here.
  • On March 21, L4GG started offering 1:1 pro bono legal assistance on compliance, termination, and investigation issues for EPA, USDA, and DOE grantees. Sign up here.
  • On Tuesday, March 25, Senator Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released two internal EPA documents: a letter from the EPA General Counsel’s Office acknowledging that some termination actions were being made despite violating grant terms and conditions, and a list of 400 grants the agency intends to, or is actively considering for, termination. A searchable version of this list can be found here.
  • On Wednesday, March 26, USDA informed recipients of funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), the New Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) that they had 30 calendar days to inform USDA Rural Development of whether they would like to propose modifications.

Potential Actions for Federal Grantees

1) If you are suspended or otherwise unable to draw down funds from ASAP, or you have received a termination letter, please ensure that Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) has your most recent information.

  • If you have not filled out the L4GG intake form in the last week, then please fill out the new version here. 
  • If you filled out the L4GG intake form in the last week, then please send any updates via email to FPC@L4GG.org. Please include any relevant documents that you have not uploaded in the past, such as your termination letter, a screenshot of ASAP, your grant agreement (including amendments), and any other relevant communications with EPA.
  • If you are frozen or suspended, have received a termination letter, or have been asked to amend your grant for DEI reasons, please find a template email that you can send back to the agency in L4GG’s Email Template Guide.

2) Join the Environmental Protection Network and our partners for webinars, trainings, and office hours on compliance and funding protection.

  • Register today for our special Federal Grantee Office Hours on Thursday, April 3, from 3pm-4pm ET to learn more about the current state of EPA funding, plans for future terminations, recent announcements on EPA’s general terms and conditions, and administrative and legal strategies to protect your funding.
  • Attend EPN’s bimonthly office hours to learn more about compliance issues and be in community with other grantees.

3) Contact your elected representatives. If your grant is on the list of 400, this is particularly time-sensitive.

  • Send a letter via email to your elected representatives. Here is a sample letter to elected officials updated to reflect the latest developments.
  • Share your story with congress through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Google Form. Senate offices continue to collect stories that they are using to help amplify the importance of these programs.
  • Request a meeting with your member of Congress/Senators. Coordinate when members of Congress will be home, in their districts and states. Facilitate or join organizations planning to meet and engage with congressional members.
  • Engage your allies to amplify this message: Ask your board members, community partners, and others to sign onto your letters, send their own letters, and/or join meetings with EPA and elected officials.

4) Tell your story.

  • Post on social media and ask your allies to amplify the message. Use digital platforms to drive awareness and engage others on the issues. Here are social media best practices and sample posts.
  • Contact local media to share your story. This includes your local paper(s), television, and radio stations. Here are potential media talking points.
  • If you need help preparing for a media interview, please review these media interview strategies and contact EPN for 1:1 assistance.
  • Coordinate public statements with your allies via joint letters, press releases, and media engagements.
  • Write an op-ed or article: Publish thought pieces that highlight the importance of your grant to shape public opinion and put pressure on decision-makers.
  • If you want help reaching local media, please reach out to EPN, use the subject line “grantee wanting to talk to press,” and include the following information:
    • Best point of contact, phone, and email for media inquiries
    • Name of organization, name of project (if you have one), name of grant program/s, and how much money you were granted
    • 1-3 sentence description of how your project will create jobs, reduce pollution, protect veterans and kids, create energy independence, help a community solve a long-standing problem, etc.