This bill establishes the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program within the Department of Environmental Protection. Under the program, an entity or a successor in interest to an entity that was engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2024 is assessed a cost recovery demand for the entity's share of fossil fuel extraction or refinement contributing to greenhouse gas-related costs in the State. An entity is assessed a cost recovery demand only if the department determines that the entity's products were responsible for more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Cost recovery payments received by
43 the department are deposited into the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund to
44 provide funding for recovery of the costs to develop and implement the program and fund
45 and for climate change adaptation projects in the State, which the department is directed to
46 prioritize through the adoption of a resilience implementation strategy and to ensure that at
47 least 35% of the funds are used for climate change adaptation projects that benefit
48 low-income persons with environmental justice concerns.