Judge blocks New York’s ‘climate Superfund’ law as other states watch closely

A federal judge ruled Monday that New York cannot enforce its landmark “climate Superfund” law, a measure that sought to charge fossil fuel companies $75 billion over 25 years to help the state deal with the costs of climate change. 

While the legal battle is far from over, the ruling could give pause to lawmakers in many other states who have been considering similar legislation. 

Chief Judge Brenda Sannes of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled that New York’s 2024 law is preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, calling the measure “simply beyond the limits of state law.” Fossil fuel companies have long argued that federal regulations governing emissions supersede states’ authority to punish companies for their role in causing climate change. 

“It is precisely because the (state) Climate Act operates within an area of law ‘in which the federal interest is so dominant’ that it cannot be enforced,” Sannes wrote in her ruling. 

The case against New York’s law was brought by fossil fuel companies and the attorneys general of 22 Republican-led states. 

“This is a major victory in the fight against liberal states, trying to balance their budgets on the backs of our hard-working men and women in the coal, oil and gas industries,” West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said in a statement. 

Climate disasters are on the rise. These states want to make oil companies pay.

Environmental advocates called on New York Attorney General Letitia James to appeal the ruling. 

“The fossil fuel industry would like nothing more than for one district court ruling in New York to scare lawmakers across the country into backing down, but this decision doesn’t bind other states or stop them from passing their own laws,” Cassidy DiPaola, communications director for Make Polluters Pay, an advocacy campaign supporting climate Superfund bills and lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. 

“New York should fight this ruling, and every other state should keep moving until we make polluters pay their fair share.”

New York was the second state to pass a climate Superfund law, following a measure in Vermont. A lawsuit against Vermont’s law is still pending. 

The laws are modeled on the federal Superfund program, which requires polluters to pay for the cleanup of toxic waste sites. 

Lawmakers in at least 12 other states have proposed similar bills this session, although none has advanced so far. While the policy has gained significant attention and support in recent years, experts said that some legislators were likely waiting to see how the legal battles over the New York and Vermont laws would play out. 

Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at [email protected].