Cuts to Clean Air Grants Raise Concerns in Charlotte’s Black Neighborhoods

Grants to monitor air quality in four communities near Charlotte, North Carolina, that have high pollution exposures due to nearby energy plants worry residents, reports The Charlotte Observer:

Organizations like CleanAIRE NC are worried too. The Charlotte-based nonprofit installed air monitors in McCrorey Heights in 2024 through a $75,000 EPA grant awarded in 2021. But a $500,000 EPA grant last year to help with similar efforts in north Mecklenburg County has been frozen by the feds.

That grant was for monitoring air quality in four communities which have higher pollution exposures because of energy plants near them: Smithville in Cornelius; Huntington Green and Pottstown in Huntersville; and West Davidson in Davidson…

The coalition is also trying to check if lead paint is in homes. But funding for testing and removal nationally has been pulled by the Trump administration too, according to [community activist Lisa] Mayhew-Jones and published reports.

“I know some people don’t think about the environment and the health of people, but pulling back these funds can cause issues for folks,” Mayhew-Jones said. “We have a lot of seniors with fixed incomes. That means more health challenges and more health costs without being able to do these studies and have clean air.”