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SLO County attorney finds misappropriation, $427 million grant rescinded

August 29, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County attorney Saro Rizzo and React Alliance President Mandy Davis asked the federal government in June to terminate and seek the return of unspent grant monies related to offshore wind energy in California because of misappropriation. Earlier today, the federal government canceled a $427 million grant it had awarded to the Humboldt Harbor District for construction of an industrial port.

Rizzo, the vice president of REACT Alliance, pointed out “ample reasons to terminate the grant and to demand a return of unspent disbursed funds from the Humboldt Harbor District.”

  • Grant eligibility guidelines require projects to be “of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.”
  • Eligible projects within the boundaries of a freight rail, water (including ports) must be a “surface transportation infrastructure project necessary to facilitate direct intermodal interchange, transfer, or access into or out of the facility and must significantly improve freight movement on the National Highway Freight Network.”
  • Humboldt Bay is not a designated national multimodal freight network facility and is not eligible for the grant funds.

REACT Alliance is a nonprofit, non-partisan volunteer organization that opposes the proposed offshore wind projects off the coast of Morro Bay.

On Friday, the Trump administration announced it was terminating $679 million in federal funding for 12 offshore wind projects, including $427 million for the California project. The money was slated to be used for staging, wind turbine assembly, and launching in Humboldt Bay.

The Trump administration is also canceling a $47 million grant for an offshore wind hub near the Port of Baltimore in Maryland, $48 million grant for an offshore wind terminal project in New York’s Staten Island, and $33 million for a port project in Salem, Massachusetts – to support offshore wind energy projects.

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I just can’t justify disrupting our Ocean life for our selfish need for power. WE have other means for energy. One’s that won’t confuse migrating whales, fish and birds. Besides those batteries are NOT GREEN! We can do better! But IF you insist on Windmills, put them in the Valley, where our Ocean life won’t be confused. And where the probable battery fire won’t contaminate People and agriculture.


2

Nice.


12

Are groups and individuals stealing tax dollars with these programs?…. The global climate change fanatics may not be fanatical but just money hungry….


25

Possibly each and every dollar of the public funds disseminated through these grants should be audited.


16

Time to audit every NGO in California. The grift needs to end.


40

It would be very informative to know how much of the $427 million has already been spent and if none how much was spent by who for the PR and planning?


21

and who it was paid out to!


0

Well done Saro Rizzo! Let’s hope you can do the same thing for Avila Beach, Port San Luis, and Morro Bay before these bucolic communities become the industrial ports they shouldn’t be…


28

…and then could you also take on Central Coast Blue?! Millions spent by three cities, most going to one contractor, on a project that increased from $24m to $158m. Time to investigate!


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