Drummond secures legal victory against New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 1, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced today a major multi-state victory against New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York struck down the act, declaring the law unenforceable.

The law aimed to impose $75 billion in fines to energy producers for prior lawful energy production. Drummond and a coalition of attorneys general challenged the law, and the Trump Administration and attorneys representing the coal, oil and natural gas industries joined the fight.

“Climate Superfund laws threaten America’s energy independence by punishing energy producers for decades of prior energy production,” Drummond said. “Energy producers have followed the law and should not be hit with crippling, erroneous fines.”

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. New York’s law cannot be enforced because it is inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. The court also ruled that the foreign affairs doctrine preempted the Superfund law’s attempt to regulate international emissions.

Other states in the coalition against the Climate Change Superfund Act are West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Read the order.