MAINE PUBLIC • March 25, 2026
The Maine Legislature is considering a pared back version of a bill initially proposed to set up a "climate superfund" to hold big oil corporations responsible for damage from fossil fuel pollution. Instead of starting a superfund program, the bill now directs the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to calculate the dollar value of costs to Maine from greenhouse gas emissions over a period of about 20 years. State Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, told lawmakers on the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee that avoiding a potential lawsuit motivated backing off from a full climate superfund program, at least for now. New York and Vermont are both defending their own superfund laws from court challenges.