A federal judge in South Carolina ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency’s termination of the $2.8 billion Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program was unlawful. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel, voided the EPA’s action, according to insideclimatenews.org. The Southern Environmental Law Center, in partnership with the Public Rights Project, filed the lawsuit. A coalition of nonprofits and cities, including Baltimore, Nashville, and San Diego, also sued to retain grants they had been awarded under the program. Judge Gergel did not issue a permanent injunction requiring the EPA to resume administering the program. According to insideclimatenews.org, he noted that requiring the EPA to restart the program would likely require rehiring staff, which appeared impractical because the Trump administration had already fired them. Judge Gergel also denied a request to extend the program’s September deadline for awarding grant funds.