Washington DC - A US district judge has blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from being able to reappropriate climate grant money that was slashed as part of Trump administration purges.

US district judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order on Tuesday pausing the termination of funding to three environmental nonprofits' grant agreements with the EPA.

The order stops Citibank, which holds some of the funds, from distributing the money back to the EPA or another government agency to be used for any other purposes.

Chutkan paused funding cuts to the Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities on the basis that the EPA had failed to take the legal steps required to terminate the grants.

Environment and Climate Trump moves to axe scientific research at EPA

In a ruling, Chutkan said that the contracts had been terminated on the basis of "waste, fraud, and abuse" but that officials had failed to provide any evidence to support their claims.

The EPA offered "no specific information about such investigations, factual support for the decision, or an individualized explanation for each Plaintiff," she said. "This is insufficient."

In a raging rebuke of Chutkan's ruling, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin posted a statement on social media in which he accused the grants of being "riddled with self-dealing and wasteful spending." Again, he presented no evidence.

"I will not rest until these hard-earned taxpayer dollars are returned to the US Treasury," Zeldin said. "Every penny EPA spends will go towards our core mission of protecting human health and the environment."

Zeldin last week announced a slew of deregulatory measures, some of which wind back protections against polluters potentially causing harm to human health and the environment. Several former EPA administrators have warned that the move will endanger lives.

Environment and Climate Death toll rises after catastrophic tornadoes and storms pummel South and Midwest

The CEO of Climate United Fund, one of the groups targeted by grant cuts, issued a statement praising Chutkan's ruling and calling it "a strong step in the right direction."

"In the coming weeks, we will continue working towards a long-term solution that will allow us to invest in projects that deliver energy savings, create jobs, and boost American manufacturing in communities across the country," CEO Beth Bafford said.