Trump's attempt at dismantling environmental protections threatens the progress we have made toward cleaner air, safer water, and healthier communities. Photo: Shutterstock.
This is part of an occasional series examining how the Trump administration may alter environmental laws.
Across the country, communities have seen increased investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and environmental protections. This is partly due to policies like Justice40 and Title VI civil rights protections.
These policies weren’t just bureaucracy. They aimed to address historic inequities by offering long-overdue support to communities that have borne the brunt of pollution and climate change, including low-income and communities of color.
The Biden administration took steps to further these efforts by establishing environmental justice offices at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. These offices were designed to hold polluters accountable and act as an extra safeguard for environmental justice communities
But now, with Project 2025 as its playbook, the Trump administration is attempting to dismantle these vital protections. It raises a pressing question: Can they do that?
Short answer? They can try. But it won’t be easy.
The Legal Hurdles: It’s Not That Simple
The administration plans to roll back two key policies. The first is called Justice40, a federal initiative ensuring that 40% of climate and clean energy investments benefit communities historically overburdened by polluting energy infrastructure. Congress has appropriated funds for programs aligned with its goals, making a full rollback more complex. The second is Title VI, which contains certain protections against environmental discrimination.
Here’s the thing – rolling back these protections isn’t as simple as signing an executive order. Title VI is tied to existing civil rights laws, so any attempt to weaken it must go through a rigorous legal process. That means the agencies tasked with implementing these policies cannot just unilaterally change them. For example, if there were regulations finalized, agencies must justify their decisions to roll them back, including by allowing the public to weigh in. They also must prepare for inevitable legal battles.
History is on our side – courts have repeatedly struck down attempts to weaken environmental protections when proper legal procedures weren’t followed. But this administration has shown a willingness to push legal boundaries, whether through executive orders or regulatory loopholes. That’s why vigilance and legal challenges will be critical in the months ahead.
Defunding and Dismantling: A Backdoor Attack on Environmental Justice
One of the administration’s most insidious strategies isn’t just rolling back policies – it’s making them impossible to implement.
Under the guise of its broader anti-DEI efforts, the Trump administration reassigned or placed on leave staff at the EPA and DOJ who were tasked with carrying out these policies. By removing the very people responsible for enforcing Justice40 and Title VI, the administration is effectively gutting these protections without technically repealing them.
And then there’s the funding freeze. Even if these policies remain on paper, they become meaningless if there’s no staff or resources to enforce them. It’s regulatory sabotage – stripping protections away not by law, but by logistics.
Who Stands to Lose?
Dismantling these protections goes beyond politics. It would have serious consequences for communities, including here in New England.
Justice40 directs federal climate funding to communities that have long been denied investment, supporting clean energy expansion, pollution cleanup, and disaster preparedness. Gutting Title VI protections would strip residents of a crucial tool to challenge environmental discrimination, making it easier for industries to place harmful projects in areas already burdened by pollution.
The impact would be felt in daily life: fewer protections against toxic industries, fewer resources for disaster resilience, and fewer tools to fight environmental racism. The result? More children suffering from asthma, more families exposed to lead and hazardous waste, and more neighborhoods facing greater environmental harm.
Unexpected Pushbacks?
While some industries might cheer a rollback of environmental justice policies, others could fight back. Renewable energy companies, local governments, and even conservative-leaning states have benefited from Justice40 investments. Rolling back or freezing funding for these programs would cost jobs, halt infrastructure projects, and disrupt industries that have come to rely on federal funding.
Even in red states, where many clean energy projects have been deployed, communities stand to lose jobs and economic opportunities. Will local leaders stand by as their states lose billions in investments? The pushback may come from surprising places.
State and Local Action: A Critical Line of Defense
Even if the federal government weakens protections, states have the power to maintain or strengthen their own environmental justice policies.
New England states, for example, have already passed robust laws aimed at curbing the carbon pollution overheating our planet and upgrading our energy systems to clean, renewable sources. These laws go beyond federal requirements, demonstrating the power of state leadership. CLF has been at the forefront of these efforts – helping pass laws that protect communities overburdened by pollution and energy infrastructure in Massachusetts and Vermont and strengthening those protections in Connecticut. Now, we’re working to ensure that other states, like Rhode Island, can benefit from similar protections.
While federal regulations matter, local action can drive powerful change, too. CLF works across New England to strengthen environmental protections and equip communities with the tools to push back. Take where we allow infrastructure to be built, for example – when harmful projects like landfills or waste incinerators threaten neighborhoods, we work alongside residents to demand stronger safeguards and better alternatives.
What’s Next? Fighting for Justice
The stakes couldn’t be higher. These aren’t abstract policies – they’re protections that determine who gets to breathe clean air, drink safe water, and take a fair shot at a healthy life. Without them, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities will suffer the most.
The Trump administration may try to unravel environmental justice progress, but history has shown that communities fighting together can win. Whether through courtrooms, organizing, or state-level action, we have the tools to push back.
