Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
MSLF Communications Dept.
MacKenzie Guy
(303) 292-2021
communications@mslegal.org
Mountain States Legal Foundation Defends West Virginia Energy Producers from New York Overreach
LAKEWOOD, CO [April 28, 2025] — Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is representing the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) in a federal lawsuit challenging a New York law that threatens to penalize energy producers nationwide.
In December 2024, New York’s governor signed the “Climate Change Superfund Act”—a radical new law that forces energy companies to pay into a $75 billion fund to address the state’s climate-related infrastructure costs. But the law doesn’t just target companies operating in New York, it reaches across state lines to demand massive payments from out-of-state energy producers across the country.
The law retroactively assigns liability to companies for historical emissions. There’s no requirement to prove any connection to actual environmental harm—just an arbitrary calculation designed to extract billions from energy production in states like West Virginia to line the pockets of New York.
MSLF senior attorney, Ivan London, says, “It is critical to stop New York’s attempted overreach—that State cannot seize control and try to unilaterally crush America’s energy industry. So, we have joined the fight with GO-WV and alongside several states to stop what New York is doing and establish that other states cannot follow in New York’s footsteps in this way.”
The law targets oil and gas producers across the country who provide affordable, reliable energy to homes and businesses nationwide. This lawsuit defends their right to innovate, produce energy, and power the nation—without being punished by states pursuing political agendas.
New York’s law violates multiple constitutional protections, including due process, the Commerce Clause, and federal pre-emption under the Supremacy Clause. If allowed to stand, it threatens every energy-producing state in the country.