The Minneapolis Foundation is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the EPA illegally froze tens of millions of dollars in federal grants intended to address environmental harms and economic disparities in some of the nation’s most disadvantaged communities.

The Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, which was established by Congress under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, dedicated $600 million in block grants for projects aimed at tackling climate and environmental justice issues in neighborhoods historically overburdened by pollution and a lack of financial opportunities.

The EPA awarded that money to more than a dozen regional partners — largely nonprofits and academic institutions — as community grants for projects such as installing air pollution monitors, conducting asthma screenings and replacing lead pipes in homes.

The Minneapolis Foundation was awarded roughly $60 million to deliver to applicants across six Midwestern states, including Minnesota, as well as 37 federally recognized tribal nations. But EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced last month he was canceling all the agency’s environmental justice grants, nearly 800 programs in total, including the Thriving Communities program.

The foundation is joined in the suit by Baltimore-based nonprofit Green and Healthy Homes Initiative and Seattle-based Philanthropy Northwest, which were also awarded $60 million each from the grant program to distribute as a regional partner.

The EPA has since informed the Minneapolis Foundation that its funding was officially terminated as of May 1. The federal agency did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.

“Communities working to reduce air pollution, protect their drinking water and address other basic human needs are bearing the consequences of the federal government’s recent actions to cancel funding for environmental and public health projects,” the Minneapolis Foundation said in a statement Friday regarding the lawsuit.