BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 1 of 17
1 H.809
2 Introduced by Representatives LaLonde of South Burlington, Sheldon of
3 Middlebury, Andrews of Westford, Anthony of Barre City,
4 Arsenault of Williston, Austin of Colchester, Bartholomew of
5 Hartland, Berbeco of Winooski, Black of Essex, Bluemle of
6 Burlington, Bongartz of Manchester, Bos-Lun of Westminster,
7 Brady of Williston, Brown of Richmond, Brumsted of
8 Shelburne, Burke of Brattleboro, Burrows of West Windsor,
9 Buss of Woodstock, Campbell of St. Johnsbury, Casey of
10 Montpelier, Chapin of East Montpelier, Chase of Chester,
11 Chase of Colchester, Chesnut-Tangerman of Middletown
12 Springs, Christie of Hartford, Cina of Burlington, Coffey of
13 Guilford, Cole of Hartford, Conlon of Cornwall, Dodge of
14 Essex, Dolan of Essex Junction, Dolan of Waitsfield, Durfee of
15 Shaftsbury, Elder of Starksboro, Farlice-Rubio of Barnet,
16 Garofano of Essex, Goldman of Rockingham, Graning of
17 Jericho, Headrick of Burlington, Holcombe of Norwich, Hooper
18 of Randolph, Hooper of Burlington, Houghton of Essex
19 Junction, Howard of Rutland City, Hyman of South Burlington,
20 James of Manchester, Jerome of Brandon, Kornheiser of
21 Brattleboro, Krasnow of South Burlington, LaBounty of
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 2 of 17
1 Lyndon, Lalley of Shelburne, LaMont of Morristown, Leavitt of
2 Grand Isle, Logan of Burlington, Long of Newfane, Masland of
3 Thetford, McCann of Montpelier, McCarthy of St. Albans City,
4 McGill of Bridport, Minier of South Burlington, Mrowicki of
5 Putney, Mulvaney-Stanak of Burlington, Nicoll of Ludlow,
6 Notte of Rutland City, Nugent of South Burlington, O’Brien of
7 Tunbridge, Ode of Burlington, Patt of Worcester, Pouech of
8 Hinesburg, Priestley of Bradford, Rachelson of Burlington, Rice
9 of Dorset, Roberts of Halifax, Satcowitz of Randolph, Scheu of
10 Middlebury, Sibilia of Dover, Sims of Craftsbury, Small of
11 Winooski, Stebbins of Burlington, Stevens of Waterbury, Stone
12 of Burlington, Surprenant of Barnard, Templeman of
13 Brownington, Torre of Moretown, Troiano of Stannard,
14 Williams of Barre City, and Wood of Waterbury
15 Referred to Committee on
16 Date:
17 Subject: Judiciary; conservation and development; liability; greenhouse gas
18 emissions
19 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish the
20 Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program at the Agency of Natural
21 Resources. Under the Program, an entity or a successor in interest to an entity VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 3 of 17
1 that was engaged in the trade or business of extracting fossil fuel or refining
2 crude oil between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2019 would be assessed a
3 cost recovery demand for the entity’s share of fossil fuel extraction or
4 refinement contributing to greenhouse gas-related costs in Vermont. An entity
5 would only be assessed a cost recovery demand if the Agency determined that
6 the entity’s products were responsible for more than one billion metric tons of
7 covered greenhouse gas emissions. Any cost recovery payments received by
8 the Agency would be deposited into the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery
9 Program Fund to provide funding for climate change adaptive or resilience
10 infrastructure projects in the State.
11 An act relating to climate change cost recovery
12 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
13 Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE
14 This act may be cited as the “Climate Superfund Act.”
15 Sec. 2. 10 V.S.A. chapter 24A is added to read:
16 CHAPTER 24A. CLIMATE SUPERFUND COST RECOVERY PROGRAM
17 § 596. DEFINITIONS
18 As used in this chapter:
19 (1) “Agency” means the Climate Action Office of the Agency of Natural
20 Resources.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 4 of 17
1 (2) “Climate change adaptive infrastructure project” means an
2 infrastructure project designed to avoid, moderate, repair, or adapt to negative
3 impacts caused by climate change and to assist communities, households, and
4 businesses in preparing for future climate-change-driven disruptions. Climate
5 change adaptive infrastructure projects include implementing nature-based
6 solutions and flood protections; upgrading stormwater drainage systems;
7 making defensive upgrades to roads, bridges, railroads, and transit systems;
8 preparing for and recovering from extreme weather events; undertaking
9 preventive health care programs and providing medical care to treat illness or
10 injury caused by the effects of climate change; relocating, elevating, or
11 retrofitting sewage treatment plants and other infrastructure vulnerable to
12 flooding; installing energy efficient cooling systems and other weatherization
13 and energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits in public and private buildings,
14 including schools and public housing, designed to reduce the public health
15 effects of more frequent heat waves and forest fire smoke; upgrading parts of
16 the electrical grid to increase stability and resilience, including supporting the
17 creation of self-sufficient microgrids; and responding to toxic algae blooms,
18 loss of agricultural topsoil, and other climate-driven ecosystem threats to
19 forests, farms, fisheries, and food systems.
20 (3) “Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program” means the program
21 established by this chapter.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 5 of 17
1 (4) “Coal” means bituminous coal, anthracite coal, and lignite.
2 (5)(A) “Controlled group” means two or more entities treated as a single
3 employer under:
4 (i) 26 U.S.C. § 52(a) or (b), without regard to 26 U.S.C.
5 § 1563(b)(2)(C); or
6 (ii) 26 U.S.C. § 414(m) or (o).
7 (B) For purposes of this chapter, entities in a controlled group are
8 treated as a single entity for purposes of meeting the definition of responsible
9 party and are jointly and severally liable for payment of any cost recovery
10 demand owed by any entity in the controlled group.
11 (6) “Cost recovery demand” means a charge asserted against a
12 responsible party for cost recovery payments under the Program for payment to
13 the Fund.
14 (7) “Covered greenhouse gas emissions” means the total quantity of
15 greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during the covered period,
16 expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, resulting from the use of
17 fossil fuels extracted, produced, refined, or sold by an entity.
18 (8) “Covered period” means the period that began on January 1, 2000
19 and ended on December 31, 2019.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 6 of 17
1 (9) “Crude oil” means oil or petroleum of any kind and in any form,
2 including bitumen, oil sands, heavy oil, conventional and unconventional oil,
3 shale oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and related fossil fuels.
4 (10) “Entity” means any individual, trustee, agent, partnership,
5 association, corporation, company, municipality, political subdivision, or other
6 legal organization, including a foreign nation, that holds or held an ownership
7 interest in a fossil fuel business during the covered period.
8 (11) “Environmental justice focus population” has the same meaning as
9 in 3 V.S.A. § 6002.
10 (12) “Fossil fuel” means coal, petroleum products, and fuel gases.
11 (13) “Fossil fuel business” means a business engaging in the extraction
12 of fossil fuels or the refining of petroleum products.
13 (14) “Fuel gases” or “fuel gas” means:
14 (A) methane;
15 (B) natural gas;
16 (C) liquified natural gas; and
17 (D) manufactured fuel gases.
18 (15) “Fund” means the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund
19 established pursuant to section 599 of this title.
20 (16) “Greenhouse gas” has the same meaning as in section 552 of this
21 title.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 7 of 17
1 (17) “Nature-based solutions” means projects that utilize or mimic
2 nature or natural processes and functions and that may also offer
3 environmental, economic, and social benefits while increasing resilience.
4 Nature-based solutions include both green and natural infrastructure.
5 (18) “Notice of cost recovery demand” means the written
6 communication informing a responsible party of the amount of the cost
7 recovery demand payable to the Fund.
8 (19) “Petroleum product” means any product refined or re-refined from:
9 (A) synthetic or crude oil; or
10 (B) crude oil extracted from natural gas liquids or other sources.
11 (20) “Program” means the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program
12 established under this chapter.
13 (21) “Qualifying expenditure” means an authorized payment from the
14 Fund in support of a climate change adaptive infrastructure project, including
15 its operation and maintenance.
16 (22) “Responsible party” means any entity or a successor in interest to
17 an entity that during any part of the covered period was engaged in the trade or
18 business of extracting fossil fuel or refining crude oil and is determined by the
19 Agency attributable to for more than one billion metric tons of covered
20 greenhouse gas emissions. The term responsible party does not include any VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 8 of 17
1 person who lacks sufficient connection with the State to satisfy the nexus
2 requirements of the U.S. Constitution.
3 § 597. THE CLIMATE SUPERFUND COST RECOVERY PROGRAM
4 There is hereby established the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program
5 administered by the Climate Action Office of the Agency of Natural
6 Resources. The purposes of the Program shall be all of the following:
7 (1) to secure compensatory payments from responsible parties based on
8 a standard of strict liability to provide a source of revenue for climate change
9 adaptive infrastructure projects within the State;
10 (2) to determine proportional liability of responsible parties;
11 (3) to impose cost recovery demands on responsible parties and issue
12 notices of cost recovery demands;
13 (4) to accept and collect payment from responsible parties;
14 (5) to identify climate change adaptive infrastructure projects; and
15 (6) to disperse funds to climate change adaptive infrastructure projects.
16 § 598. LIABILITY OF RESPONSIBLE PARTIES
17 (a)(1) A responsible party shall be strictly liable for a share of the costs of
18 climate change adaptive infrastructure projects supported by the Fund,
19 including project operation and maintenance.
20 (2) For purposes of this section, entities in a controlled group:
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 9 of 17
1 (A) shall be treated by the Agency as a single entity for the purposes
2 of identifying responsible parties; and
3 (B) are jointly and severally liable for payment of any cost recovery
4 demand owed by any entity in the controlled group.
5 (b) With respect to each responsible party, the cost recovery demand shall
6 be equal to an amount that bears the same ratio to the cost to Vermont from the
7 emission of covered greenhouse gases during the covered period as the
8 responsible party’s applicable share of covered greenhouse gas emissions bears
9 to the aggregate applicable shares of covered greenhouse gas emissions
10 resulting from the use of fossil fuels extracted, produced, or refined during the
11 covered period.
12 (c) If a responsible party owns a minority interest of 10 percent or more in
13 another entity, the responsible party’s applicable share of greenhouse gas
14 emissions shall be calculated as the applicable share of greenhouse gas
15 emissions for the entity in which the responsible party holds a minority interest
16 multiplied by the percentage of the minority interest held by the responsible
17 party.
18 (d) The Agency shall use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
19 Emissions Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories for the purpose of
20 determining the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to any entity
21 from the fossil fuels attributable to the entity.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 10 of 17
1 (e) The Agency may adjust the cost recovery demand amount of a
2 responsible party who refined petroleum products or who is a successor in
3 interest to an entity that refines petroleum products if the responsible party
4 establishes to the satisfaction of the Agency that:
5 (1) a portion of the cost recovery demand amount was attributable to the
6 refining of crude oil extracted by another responsible party; and
7 (2) the crude oil extracted by the other entity was accounted for when
8 the Agency determined the cost recovery demand amount for the other entity
9 of a successor in interest of the other entity.
10 (f)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a
11 responsible party shall pay the cost recovery demand amount in full on or
12 before October 1, 2026.
13 (2)(A) A responsible party may elect to pay the cost recovery demand
14 amount in nine annual installments in accordance with this subdivision (2).
15 (B) The first installment shall be paid on or before October 1, 2026
16 and shall be equal to 20 percent of the total cost recovery demand amount.
17 (C) Each subsequent installment shall be paid on or before September
18 30 each subsequent year and shall be equal to 10 percent of the total cost
19 recovery demand amount. The Secretary, at the Secretary’s discretion, may
20 adjust the amount of a subsequent installment payment to reflect increases or
21 decreases in the Consumer Price Index.
VT LEG #372030 v.2
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.809
2024 Page 11 of 17
1 (D)(i) The unpaid balance of all remaining installments shall become
2 due immediately if:
3 (I) the responsible party fails to pay any installment in a timely
4 manner, as specified in Agency rules;
5 (II) except as provided in subdivision (ii) of this subdivision
6 (f)(2)(D), there is a liquidation or sale of substantially all the assets of the
7 responsible party; or
8 (III) the responsible party ceases to do business.
9 (ii) In the case of a sale of substantially all the assets of a
10 responsible party, the remaining installments shall not become due
11 immediately if the buyer enters into an agreement with the Agency under
12 which the buyer assumes liability for the remaining installments due under this
13 subdivision (2) in the same manner as if the buyer were the responsible party.
14 (g) The Agency shall deposit cost recovery payments collected under this
15 chapter to the Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program Fund established
16 under section 599 of this title.
17 (h) A responsible party may request a hearing with the Agency to contest a
18 cost recovery demand made by the Agency under this section. The hearing
19 shall be conducted as a contested case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25.
VT LEG #372030 v.2