House Oversight Demanding EPA Documents Following Allegations of Waste and Fraud

A sign of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seen at its building in Washington on Sept. 21, 2017. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Republican leaders are looking into alleged waste, fraud, and abuse in the Biden administration’s billion-dollar environmental justice award program.

Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)—and Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Development, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas)—informed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan in a Feb. 27  letter that they had launched an investigation into the program.

The two Republican leaders asked for documents, information, and a staff briefing, and gave the agency a deadline of March 6 to schedule a briefing with the committee.

The agency was given until March 13 to remit the requested documents on the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Program (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program, and the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) Program.

Largest Allocation of Its Kind

Included in the lawmakers’s requests were documents and information regarding the two programs’ case study grantees to the EPA, communications between EPA staff containing the term “environmental justice” or the initials “EJ.”

In addition, the committee asked for all documents and communications referring or relating to EJ grants between staffers and third parties, and communications with the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, among other things.

“The committee ... is conducting oversight of Environmental Protection Agency’s [EPA] administration of environmental justice [EJ] grants. On Jan. 10, 2023, the EPA published two Requests for Applications for approximately $100 million in grant funding to support EJ initiatives—the largest allocation of its kind,” wrote the Republican lawmakers.

“However, despite this ‘unprecedented level of funding,’ the EPA’s own case studies for EJ grant programs demonstrate weak standards for grantees to practically address environmental concerns.

“To better understand the applications and disbursements of EJ grants—particularly those included in the $60 billion dollars allocated to EJ initiatives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—we request the EPA provide documents, information, and a staff-level briefing.”

Request For More Information

The EPA responded to The Epoch Times’s request for comment saying it received the letter and has “plans to fully engage with Reps. Comer and Fallon on their request for more information.”

On Jan. 10, the EPA reported they had made $100 million available to environmental groups through the IRA initiatives. Late last week, the agency made another $550 million available.

“Since day one, President Biden pledged to prioritize environmental justice and equity for all, and EPA is at the heart of delivering on that mission,” Regan said in January when his agency announced the initial funding.

“Last year, we announced EPA’s first-ever national program office dedicated to advancing environmental justice, memorializing our commitment to this critical work.

“I couldn’t be prouder to now be announcing an unprecedented level of funding thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act for community-based solutions that support underserved and overburdened communities.”

The two programs focus on climate change mitigation, rural community projects, and health impact assessments.

The EPA did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’s request for comment.