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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine will wait to see how other states' climate superfunds fare before considering its own
A house on Fortune's Rocks beach in Biddeford, Maine tilts after a series of severe coastal storms in winter 2024. The house was later torn down. (Photo by Maine Morning Star) With other states tied up in a federal legal battle, Maine lawmakers are opting to pump the brakes on an effort to hold fossil fuel companies accountable to see how those other cases play out. The Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted Wednesday to carry over one of the two bills that would establish a superfund for large fossil fuel companies to pay for infrastructure repairs, resiliency efforts and other costs in the rural and low-income communities disproportionately affected by flooding and other disasters. Before the committee voted unanimously to ask the presiding officers to carry the bill into the second regular session that begins in January, Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland) quoted a constituent of hers, Bob Monks, who recently died. Monks was known for his activism around good corporate governance and multiple U.S. Senate runs. Brenner said his idea that 'if you ran an elephant company, you would always clean up after your elephants,' captured the spirit of her bill. 'We need support to clean up after the elephants,' she added. However, Brenner agreed that it makes sense to wait until next year so the state has time to track what happens with the pending federal lawsuits before moving forward. Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim made a similar suggestion during the public hearing for LD 1870. Vermont and New York have already passed similar superfund legislation. However, those states, as well as Hawaii and Michigan, have subsequently been sued for those policies, including by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department said the lawsuits are also meant to advance an executive order from President Donald Trump that targets state and local policies involving climate change, environmental justice and carbon emissions reductions. Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) said his biggest concern with LD 1870 is the ongoing legal backdrop, so he appreciated the time to gather more information before deciding what to do in Maine. Since the committee agreed they only need one legislative vehicle to take up this topic again next year, members rejected the other related bill, LD 1808 from Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland). Instead, they sent a letter to the Department of Environmental Protection asking it to report back to the committee with an update on those lawsuits. Lookner suggested having the department look into whether Maine would go after the same companies as the other states and collect other data, such as how much it would cost to implement this sort of measure. Loyzim told the committee her department was already planning to track the lawsuits as they unfold. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maine bill would make oil companies pay into 'climate superfund'
May 5—Democratic lawmakers in Maine are looking to create a climate superfund that would collect fees from groups that extract fossil fuels and refine crude oil, then use that money to fund clean energy initiatives. Only two states — Vermont and New York — have passed similar laws, and they are being challenged in court by businesses and the Trump administration. Maine is among 11 states currently considering bills to create similar climate superfunds. LD 1870, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, would would be retroactive and apply to any fossil fuel extractor or crude oil refiner between Jan. 1, 1995, to Dec. 31, 2024. Brenner said the proposal is a matter of fairness, because greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are causing increased storm damage and public health concerns, and the costs are being borne by state and local taxpayers. Earlier this session, Gov. Janet Mills signed a bipartisan, emergency bill that allocated $39 million for recovery and rebuilding of communities and businesses damaged in a string of winter storms in late 2023 and early 2024. "I believe Mainers understand fairness," Brenner said. "When a company causes harm, it should help pay to fix it." The bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, would "assess a cost recovery demand for the entity's share of fossil fuel extraction or refinement contributing to greenhouse gas-related costs in the state," provided that the entity is responsible for more than a billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The funds would be used for clean energy and climate initiatives, including 35% for climate projects benefiting low-income people with "environmental justice concerns." The other bill, LD 1808, sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, would establish a similar fund, only it would only be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2000, and would not contain a minimum allocation for low-income people with environmental justice concerns. Both bills were heard Monday by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, which did not take action. Vermont became the first state to establish a climate superfund last year, followed by New York, whose law seeks to recover $75 billion over the next 25 years from fossil fuel companies. Vermont's law has no cap. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute filed a lawsuit challenging New York's law. The U.S Department of Justice filed its own lawsuits last week against Vermont and New York. In April, Trump signed an executive order titled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach," which directly targets state efforts to assess fees or fines on out-of-state energy producers to fund climate initiatives. The order directs the U.S. attorney general to stop the enforcement of any state law the burdens energy producers, especially laws "purporting to address 'climate change' or involving 'environmental, social, and governance' initiatives, 'environmental justice,' carbon or 'greenhouse gas' emissions, and funds to collect carbon penalties or carbon taxes." Melanie Loyzim, commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said superfunds are "intriguing" and of interest for the administration. But she urged lawmakers to hit the brakes until next year, saying Maine would benefit from seeing how implementation — and the legal challenges — play out in Vermont and New York. "Adopting some version of a climate superfund in Maine now creates an administrative burden for the department to develop a program that may be struck down by judges in the coming year," Loyzim said. "The last couple weeks of insane committee work is not the right time to pass into law something of this significance." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As lawsuits threaten state climate superfunds, officials caution Maine from adopting one now
Passersby observe the floodwaters at Veterans Memorial Park on the banks of the Androscoggin River in Lewiston on Dec. 20, 2023. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Although Maine often prides itself on living out its motto to be a leader, especially with environmental policy, state leaders are encouraging lawmakers to pause efforts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Melanie Loyzim acknowledged that Maine will need billions of dollars to address the impacts of climate change, but she said now is not the time to move forward with a proposal for fossil fuel companies to cover those costs, citing the legal battles miring states that have already taken such action. Balancing that need and timing, Loyzim told the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Monday that the department is neither for nor against two bills seeking to establish a superfund for large fossil fuel companies to pay for infrastructure repairs, resiliency efforts and other costs in the rural and low-income communities disproportionately affected by flooding and other disasters. 'The fossil fuel industry created a mess in Maine and it's high time they are responsible for cleaning it up,' said Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland), who sponsored one of the bills. LD 1870 would establish the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program, which would be funded by payments from fossil fuel businesses responsible for more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 1995 and 2024. The legislation stipulates that at least 35% of the funds would need to be used for climate change adaptation projects that benefit low-income households. Trump attack on state climate laws likely doomed, but attempts to yank funds may be next Brenner said her bill, with one Republican cosponsor, is a natural extension of the bipartisan efforts behind LD 1 that was signed into law last month. That symbolic first bill of the session created funding opportunities to make Maine homes more resilient and established a new State Resilience Office to address flooding and other impacts of extreme weather. That legislation was in response to the series of severe storms that caused an estimated $90 million in damage to public infrastructure across Maine last winter and builds upon $60 million for storm relief that was included in the state's supplemental budget last year. 'Instead of needing to pass a bill like LD 1 every single legislative session, we can establish a climate superfund to better prepare for and respond to storms,' said Jackson Chadwick, advocacy director for Maine Youth for Climate Justice, testifying in support. During the public hearing, Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland) introduced LD 1808 that similarly seeks to establish a superfund to hold fossil fuel companies accountable, especially since research has shown that companies including Exxon knew of the harm decades ago and actively sought to suppress those findings. Though there is a lot of overlap between the two bills, Lookner said his bill provides a more robust definition around an 'environmental justice focus populations' that could better direct superfund dollars to communities hit hardest. During the hearing, many of the proponents said they prefer LD 1870, but Lookner and others encouraged the committee to take the best components of each bill when streamlining the proposals. Maine Lobsters Union Local 207 submitted testimony in support of Lookner's bill, saying that Maine needs a plan for the future so heritage industries that rely on the waterfront, like lobster fishing, aren't left with debilitating damage from extreme weather and little means to make the repairs. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposed the measures, arguing that they pose risks to Maine business by retroactively assigning financial liability to companies that were lawfully engaging in business. It fears such legislation would signal that Maine is an unpredictable place to do business. Sen. Denise Tepler (D-Sagadahoc), who co-chairs the committee, asked Brenner if the superfund would pay for damages in the five areas of her district that are being impacted by sea level rise. Brenner reminded her that costs to repair roads and other public infrastructure in those areas are currently being paid for by taxpayers. Some committee members questioned whether the model would increase prices at the gas pump or on energy bills, but Brenner said she believes existing financial regulatory processes would prevent costs from being pushed on to consumers. Maine isn't the first state to explore the idea of a climate superfund, as Vermont and New York have already passed similar legislation. However, those states, as well as Hawaii and Michigan, have subsequently been sued for those policies, including by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department said the lawsuit is also meant to advance an executive order from President Donald Trump that targets state and local policies involving climate change, environmental justice and carbon emissions reductions. Rachel Rothschild, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School, told the committee it is unprecedented for the DOJ to bring that type of lawsuit and she is skeptical of the viability of the claims. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi argues these policies threaten the country's energy independence, while the lawsuit claims they are unconstitutional and preempted by the federal Clean Air Act. However, Rothschild said the Clean Air Act addresses future pollution, whereas the superfund looks at pollution retroactively. Climate superfunds, like the one proposed in Maine, build upon a long-standing principle in environmental law known as 'polluter pays.' That is the same principle that requires identifiable polluters to foot the bill to clean up hazardous waste sites. Cathy Breen, who testified on behalf of the Environmental Priorities Coalition, said the state has adopted other uses of that principle through policies such as the beverage container redemption program, as well as the recently extended producer responsibility program for packaging. LD 1870 is a priority for the coalition of 40 conservation, climate and public health organizations this legislative session. Loyzim said it would be helpful for Maine to wait and see how that litigation plays out in other states before creating a superfund of its own. She recommended the state wait until next year to dig into this topic and what it could look like in Maine. This would also allow the state to determine how best to implement the policy, including details like whether it would share data with other states, to better estimate the cost of such a policy. Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) asked Loyzim how to ensure that the department continues to lay the groundwork for that conversation if the committee chooses to defer it until next year. Loyzim said they will already be tracking those legal challenges but also suggested the committee could convert one of the bills into a directive for the department to work on a report to inform future discussion. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
