Blumenthal, Murphy, Hayes, DeLauro, Larson, & Himes Urge Immediate Reversal of EPA's Illegal Efforts to Withhold Toxic Clean Up Funding from Naugatuck Valley

[Hartford, CT] – Today, in a new letter to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), John Larson (CT-01), and Jim Himes (CT-04) urged the immediate reversal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) suspension of $8.6 million in federal funding for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG).

“We are deeply concerned about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) illegal efforts to withhold congressionally appropriated funding from our constituents, in response to the swath of Executive Orders you have issued since being sworn in,” wrote the Senators and Representatives.

“In Connecticut, we have heard from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments that their access to an open Fiscal Year 2022 Revolving Loan Fund grant was suspended by EPA. As of the afternoon of Wednesday, January 29, they were unable to access already promised funds through the federal portal – an $8.66 million balance. This grant provides vital funding to remediate brownfield sites, helping local communities conduct environmental clean-up. Cleaning up brownfields is one of the best investments the federal government can make in a community,” they continued. “We demand that you immediately rescind this order.”

Last week, NVCOG’s access to their Fiscal Year 2022 Revolving Loan Fund grant was suspended with no notice. The grant provides vital funding to remediate brownfield sites, helping local communities conduct environmental clean-up that lead to vital private real estate development deals, housing initiatives, and regional economic revitalization efforts. With its suspension, municipalities and developers alike are left facing stalled projects, financial uncertainty, and scrambling to find alternative funding sources. This suspension will impact 13 projects across Naugatuck Valley.

Last week, the Trump Administration announced a decision to freeze all federal grants, including those already approved by Congress and signed into law, through a memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB memo was later rescinded, but the Trump Administration’s efforts to freeze funding persist while organizations across Connecticut report difficulty accessing federal funding. The President’s Executive Order on “Unleashing American Energy” directs all agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Video of Senator Blumenthal and Congresswoman Hayes’ press conference in Waterbury is available here.

February 3, 2025

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump,

We are deeply concerned about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) illegal efforts to withhold congressionally appropriated funding from our constituents, in response to the swath of Executive Orders you have issued since being sworn in. These executive orders to freeze funding, including “Unleashing American Energy,” are clearly unconstitutional and should be rescinded immediately.

On January 27, 2025, your administration made the unconstitutional and unilateral decision to freeze all federal funding through a memorandum issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As a result, chaos and confusion halted payments to everything from veterans’ programs to Head Start to Medicaid. While the sweeping OMB memo has since been rescinded – after a federal court stepped in – many critical programs remain unable to access federal funding.

In Connecticut, we have heard from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments that their access to an open Fiscal Year 2022 Revolving Loan Fund grant was suspended by EPA. As of the afternoon of Wednesday, January 29, they were unable to access already promised funds through the federal portal – an $8.66 million balance. This grant provides vital funding to remediate brownfield sites, helping local communities conduct environmental clean-up.

Cleaning up brownfields is one of the best investments the federal government can make in a community. It is an investment that creates jobs and helps transform polluted land into economically viable and environmentally safe parcels that communities will use for years to come. Federal brownfield funding protects people’s health, incentivizes economic growth and development, and improves quality of life for all.

We understand this funding is being withheld in accordance with Section 7 of the Executive Order on "Unleashing American Energy.” This section, titled “Terminating the Green New Deal,” directs all agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).”

We demand that you immediately rescind this order.

Sincerely,

CC: Administrator Lee Zeldin, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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