22 states sue New York state, alleging environmental fund is unconstitutional

ALBANY, N.Y. — Twenty-two states sued New York state on Thursday, contending that a new law forcing a small group of major energy producers to pay $75 billion into a fund to cover climate change damage is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit, filed in Albany, New York, lists Attorney General Letitia James and other state officials as defendants. Messages seeking comment were sent to the defendants.

According to a release, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey led the coalition of states against the New York state Climate Change Superfund Act, which requires payments for damage allegedly done from 2000 to 2018.

The law requires major fossil fuel companies to pay into the fund over the next quarter-century based on their past gas emissions.

"This lawsuit is to ensure that these misguided policies, being forced from one state onto the entire nation, will not lead America into the doldrums of an energy crisis, allowing China, India and Russia to overtake our energy independence,'' McCuskey said in a release.

''This law is unconstitutional, and I am proud to lead this coalition of attorneys general and brave private energy companies and industry groups in our fight to protect against this overreach," McCuskey added. "If we allow New York to get away with this, it will only be a matter of time before other states follow suit – wrecking our nation's power grid.''

The lawsuit accuses New York state of trying to force energy producers and consumers in other states ''to subsidize certain New York-based ‘infrastructure' projects, such as a new sewer system in New York City.''

It called the law ''an ugly example of the chaos that can result when States overreach.''

According to the lawsuit, New York wants to blame the small group of energy producers for global greenhouse gases that entered the atmosphere from many sources.

''Yet coal, oil, and natural gas were helping New York during that time. They helped keep the lights on in Albany, manufacture the steel that supported New York City's iconic skyscrapers, and fuel the industry that keeps New York ports humming,'' the lawsuit said.

Besides West Virginia, the states joining the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.