Attorney General Hanaway Secures Major Legal Victory against New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York struck down New York’s radical Climate Change Superfund Act, declaring the law unenforceable. The law aimed to impose $75 billion in fines on energy producers for prior lawful energy production. General Hanaway joined 21 other attorneys general to challenge the overreaching law and support America’s energy producers. The Trump Administration, as well as attorneys representing the coal, oil, and natural gas industries, also joined the fight.
“My office won’t allow far-left states like New York to impose their policies on our industry leaders with unconstitutional and overreaching laws,” said General Hanaway. “We will continue to uphold the Constitution and protect hardworking Missourians who keep our lights on and our homes comfortable from radical laws with burdensome and damaging fines.”
On August 31, the Court held that the Climate Change Superfund Act was “simply beyond the limits of state law.” New York’s law conflicts with federal interests in applying uniform air pollution regulations. The federal Clean Air Act provides exclusive rules for regulating interstate air pollution. Because New York’s law is inconsistent with the Clean Air Act, it cannot be enforced. The Court also ruled that the foreign affairs doctrine preempted the Superfund law’s attempt to regulate international emissions.
This victorious ruling is the first on this issue. Legislation is also pending in several other states.
Background on the challenge of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act:
Proposed climate superfund laws threaten America’s energy independence by attempting to enforce substantial financial penalties on multiple energy producers for decades of past, legally permitted, energy production. New York’s statute particularly targeted energy production from 2000-2024, when energy producers operated legally under federal EPA and state law regulations. During those same years, New York consistently used and profited from the use of fossil fuels. Despite this, the Climate Change Superfund Act sought to impose massive fines of approximately $75 billion on select traditional energy producers.
Missouri joined West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming in the lawsuit.
Read the court order here.
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