California, Colorado and Washington sue Trump administration to unlock funding for clean energy projects
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 18 (Reuters) – California, Colorado and Washington are suing to force the federal government to pay grants approved by Congress for clean energy projects, the California attorney general’s office said on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has terminated some of the funds appropriated under environmentally focused laws, including the Inflation Reduction Act; This reflects a broad effort to control support for wind, solar and other fossil-free energy sources while prioritizing rising U.S. oil production. States including California have filed dozens of lawsuits, among the main obstacles to various Trump administration policies. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters on Tuesday about plans to sue over changes to vaccine policy and to appeal, for example, the overturning of a key Environmental Protection Agency finding known as a finding of danger that is key to climate change regulation.
Bonta said the new lawsuit responds in part to California’s $1.2 billion loss in federal funding for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES. The hydrogen plan was intended to replace fossil fuels in utilities, public transportation, trucking and ports.
California said federal agencies must enforce the law. “It’s as simple as Congress having authority over the budget, not the executive branch, and Congress has already appropriated that funding,” Bonta said in an interview Tuesday before the announcement. he said.
(Reporting by Peter Henderson, Editing by Rod Nickel)
