- Thomasville’s $19.8 million Community Change Grant was rescinded as part of a broader rollback under the Trump administration targeting environmental justice grants tied to the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The money was intended to fix aging sewer systems and support underserved neighborhoods with home repairs, public health improvements, and a new community resilience hub.
- City and community leaders are appealing to lawmakers and exploring legal action, including joining a class action lawsuit to fight the decision.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
More than 700 EPA grants were just wiped out, including nearly $20 million that was headed to Thomasville.
That money was going to help fix sewer lines, improve homes, and build a new community hub.
I'm checking in on how the city's reacting, and what the plan is now that the funding's gone.
The EPA says the cuts are part of a broader rollback of environmental justice programs under the Trump administration, which is targeting grants tied to the Inflation Reduction Act.
SOT/EARL WILLIAMS, TCDC
"We all worked so hard for this, and we won. And then, all of a sudden, one day, it's gone. And it was just a great sense of disappointment. It was almost like I lost a good friend," said Earl Williams with the Thomasville Community Development Corporation.
Thomasville was one of just 4% of applicants that got this grant, a big deal for a small city.
The city and TCDC teamed up to make it happen.
The city planned to fix old, failing sewer lines, while TCDC focused on helping underserved neighborhoods with:
- Home improvements for low-income residents
- Addressing public health concerns
- Creating a community resilience hub for weather-related emergencies
" These types of things, if gone unchecked, can actually impact the health of a community, of the people living in those homes. And so that was another big piece of it was public health. So this actually helps public health. The indoor air quality isn't great, because if you look at the areas that we're talking about in Thomasville, that's basically Dewey City, Stephen Street Historic District, Fletcherville, Carroll Hill, the South Side. You look at those different communities, and most of them were built around factories. And so there are a lot of environmental things going on there. If you look at Dewey City, for example, the rate of respiratory disease is close to one of the highest in that census tract in the nation," said Williams.
But that was just one piece of the plan.
The city was counting on this money to tackle something critical underground.
"Our portion of it was going to go directly towards making critical infrastructure improvements to our wastewater collection system. So, basically, half of the city, you know, where the wastewater, how it goes from the neighborhoods to our wastewater treatment plant, that pipeline, that infrastructure is where we were investing this grant," said Sheryl Sealy, Assistant City Manager.
The city and TCDC aren't letting this go without a fight.
They're pushing back — and hoping lawmakers listen.
"We reached out to our U.S. Congressman, Congressman Bishop of the 2nd District. We reached out to another congressman, Congressman Scott of the 8th District. We reached out to Senators Warnock and Ossoff as well. And we're asking them to advocate with the EPA on our behalf to get them to consider an appeal. We're also looking at joining a collective group that will be doing a group lawsuit. And we may join that as well," said Williams.
City officials tell me those infrastructure improvements still need to happen, with or without the grant, and they're already looking into other ways to pay for them.
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