EPA Sues Vermont Over New Climate Superfund Law
🚨 What's Going On?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, has filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Vermont, its Governor Phil Scott, and key officials from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, in their capacity as public officials. At the heart of the conflict is Vermont's recently passed Climate Superfund Act-a law that aims to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for their share of climate change impacts from 1995 to 2024.
The federal government says this law crosses the line-big time.
🏛️ What the Law Tries to Do
Vermont's Superfund Act is modeled loosely after federal Superfund environmental laws but targets climate change instead of toxic waste. It singles out large fossil fuel producers-any business that extracted or refined over one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases between 1995 and 2024.
These "responsible parties" could receive massive cost recovery demands, calculated to fund Vermont's climate adaptation projects like flood infrastructure and environmental remediation.
These companies don't even have to be based in Vermont-and most aren't, yet they still would be targeted to pay.
⚖️ Why the EPA and U.S. Government Are Suing
The federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Vermont, outlines several reasons the law allegedly violates federal authority and the Constitution:
Federal Preemption: The EPA claims the Clean Air Act already regulates greenhouse gas emissions at the national level. States like Vermont, they argue, can't reach across borders to impose retroactive penalties for global emissions.
Extraterritorial Overreach: The law tries to regulate activity that happened entirely outside Vermont-including in other U.S. states and foreign countries-which the lawsuit says violates the Constitution's Due Process Clause.
Interstate & Foreign Commerce Violations: The lawsuit says Vermont is meddling in commerce that crosses state and national borders. By punishing companies for lawful activities elsewhere, Vermont may be disrupting energy markets and interfering with federal trade policy.
Foreign Policy Conflict: Because the U.S. government is the recognized global negotiator on climate issues, allowing states to create their own foreign-focused climate penalties could undermine national policy.
🌍 Why This Matters
For Vermont, a win would affirm the state's right to hold major polluters financially accountable for their share of the climate crisis and help fund critical adaptation projects like flood control and infrastructure upgrades.
This isn't just a Vermont issue. If the court sides with Vermont, other states might follow suit-potentially unleashing a patchwork of climate-related lawsuits and cost recovery schemes across the country.
That could change the way fossil fuel companies do business and influence the future of climate legislation at the state and national levels.
🧭 What's Next?
The federal government is asking the court to declare Vermont's law unconstitutional and unenforceable. If the lawsuit succeeds, it could halt the implementation of Vermont's Climate Superfund Act before any penalties are issued.
On the other hand, if Vermont prevails, it could become a blueprint for state-level climate accountability-and stir up a national debate over who pays for the consequences of climate change.
Stay tuned, it looks like we are in the first inning and the case is far from over. It will probably take a long time and cost a lot of money to litigate this.
Published May 01, 2025