Central Coast energy, infrastructure projects threatened by Trump federal funding freeze
Adding to a growing list of entities impacted by Trump administration budget cuts, energy and infrastructure projects across the Central Coast are being threatened by a flurry of executive orders freezing millions of dollars in federal funds needed to complete the work, federal representatives said.
At least $22 million in federal grant money is currently frozen on the Central Coast, Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said in a news release last week.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive directives have caused nationwide confusion as to the availability of federal funds.
Although the Trump administration rescinded an Office of Management and Budget memo that instructed all federal agencies to pause the delivery of all federal funding, the directive appears to still be impacting grantees across San Luis Obispo County, and multiple other executive orders still on the books are blocking federal funds specifically for local infrastructure and energy projects.
Project managers from across the Central Coast have reported freezes on critical program funding to their state representatives.
The Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara County has been working on a project to improve access to electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies for almost two years with fiscal support from the federal government.
Now, the project faces a $2.5 million funding deficit, CEO Sigrid Wright told local representatives.
“We have been told that a number of federal grants previously awarded to (the Community Environmental Council) and our partners are on hold and cannot proceed,” Wright said in the news release on Feb. 10. “This freeze will leave (the Community Environmental Council) with a $2.5 million hole in our budget and would deprive the Central Coast of the critical investments needed to ensure that our communities can meet the challenges of the climate crisis.”
Another Santa Barbara County entity previously awarded federal funding — which asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution by the Trump administration — told The Tribune the funds have since been held up by the new administration.
In an email exchange obtained by The Tribune, a representative of the overseeing federal agency told the project manager: “I’m still not supposed to talk to you.”
The same thing is happening to infrastructure and climate-focused projects in SLO County, but no project groups have spoken up due to fear of retribution from the Trump administration, a spokesperson from Carbajal’s office told The Tribune.
Where is the money being blocked from?
Much of the tied-up funding was provided to Central Coast projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, both supported through the House of Representatives by congressmen Carbajal and Jimmy Panetta , D-Santa Cruz, who represent northern areas of SLO County.
The disbursement of funds appropriated under both laws were paused under section seven of an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy.” A few of the goals of the executive order include “terminating the Green New Deal” and eliminating the “electric vehicle mandate.”
The order required all grantees — projects that were already awarded federal grants — to submit project reports to the federal government for review within 90 days, and blocked the distribution of any funds through the infrastructure and inflation acts until the projects are approved by the Trump administration.
On his first day in office, Trump similarly put a temporary ban on new leases and permits for offshore wind developments, creating unknown impacts and potential delays for the three corporations that already hold leases off the Central Coast.
Another executive order was aimed at terminating “illegal” and “discriminatory” diversity, equity and inclusion programs by slashing funding to “environmental justice” offices and positions and any “equity-related” grants or contracts.
These orders have also impacted SLO County nonprofits who have lost contact with their federal agency sources.
“The Trump administration’s lawless attempts to freeze federal funding are leaving our Central Coast communities scared and vulnerable,” Carbajal and Panetta said in a joint statement to the White House Office of Management and Budget, alongside California representatives Zoe Lofgren, D-San Benito, and Julia Brownley, D-Ventura. “Without needed federal funding, community organizations and local governments’ operations are threatened, and families will face difficulty accessing basic services like health care, education, childcare, food assistance and more.”
The Tribune reached out to the White House Office of Management and Budget for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
