U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand have filed an amicus brief supporting New York’s Climate Superfund Act. This state law requires large polluting companies to pay into a fund based on their greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2024, which will be used for projects aimed at protecting New Yorkers from climate change risks such as rising sea levels.
Opponents of the law argue that it is preempted by the Clean Air Act and federal foreign policy, which would prevent states from enforcing such measures. The senators’ brief challenges this view, stating that preemption in this case is not supported by existing law and would diminish state authority.
“The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that ‘[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’ Preemption of State laws is thus ‘a serious intrusion into state sovereignty.’”
“Plaintiffs ask this Court to adopt a view of preemption so broad that it would flip the constitutional balance of power between States and the federal government on its head. Under Plaintiffs’ theory, rather than powers being reserved to States unless preempted by Congress, States lack authority to regulate in any arena that could be preempted by federal action – even where Congress has not enacted legislation or expressed a foreign policy doing so.”
The brief also notes that these arguments come as the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed stepping back from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The senators contend that if New York’s law were found preempted, it would prevent states from holding polluters accountable for environmental harm caused within their borders.
“The Climate Act is a cost-recovery program to pay for harms caused to New Yorkers. It allocates financial liability based on responsible parties’ historic shares of past greenhouse gas emissions,” wrote Senators Whitehouse and Gillibrand. “[T]he Climate Act’s liability scheme apportioning costs based on historic greenhouse gas emissions is directly consistent with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, which is one of the most fundamental concepts of global environmental law and which has been repeatedly embraced by the United States.”
As stated in their conclusion: “[n]either the Clean Air Act nor express federal foreign policy preempts the Climate Act. Plaintiffs’ arguments to the contrary would require this Court to adopt an untenably broad view of federal preemption.”
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plays a significant role in overseeing federal programs related to environmental protection and infrastructure development through its specialized subcommittees. The committee focuses on nationwide legislation addressing pollution control, water resources, public works projects, and conservation efforts according to its official website. The committee also influences national policy on issues like environmental regulations and infrastructure maintenance.
Shelley Moore Capito currently chairs this committee. Its administrative base is located in Washington D.C., at 410 Dirksen Senate Office Building according to official information.
