Vermont Superfund Law Reaches Way Past Authority, Judge Told

The US Justice Department, Chamber of Commerce, and American Petroleum Institute are seeking quick wins in their challenges against Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act.

The law “imposes retroactive strict liability and severe monetary penalties on foreign and domestic energy companies that allegedly contributed to global greenhouse gas emissions over the course of nearly three decades,” the DOJ said in its motion filed Monday with the US District Court for the District of Vermont.

As a result, the law “seeks to extend Vermont’s regulatory reach far beyond the State’s borders, purporting ...