Federal Judge Strikes Down NY’s $75B Climate Superfund Law
A federal judge in Syracuse dropped a legal anvil on New York’s $75 billion climate shakedown yesterday, ruling that the state’s Climate Change Superfund Act is preempted by federal law and cannot be enforced. It’s a complete win for West Virginia AG J.B. McCuskey, the 21 other state AGs who joined him, and the industry groups that piled on. We’ve been following this one since Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill in the waning days of 2024 (see NY Gov. Hochul Goes Nuts: Signs Law Billing O&G Companies $75B). We laid out why the law was unconstitutional (see The Legal Case Against NY Law Taxing O&G $75B for Global Warming). In February 2025, McCuskey led 22 states into federal court to kill it (see WV Leads 22 States in Suing NY Over $75B Climate Superfund Law). Last summer, McCuskey went so far as to publish an op-ed in Hochul’s backyard telling New York exactly where to stick it (see WV AG Fires New Warning Shot at New York Climate Law via NY Post). Read More “Federal Judge Strikes Down NY’s $75B Climate Superfund Law”
In April, we told you the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was taking a fresh look at the revived Constitution Pipeline and the associated Wright Interconnect project, and that the agency had to decide whether a relatively quick Environmental Assessment (EA) would do the job — or whether it would drag the projects through a full-blown, years-long Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We got our answer on August 21. FERC staff issued the EA for both projects — 79 pages plus appendices — and the bottom line is the one supporters have been waiting on: building Constitution “would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” In plain English — no significant impact. No years-long supplemental EIS is needed. 
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last Friday slammed the door on Big Green’s attempt to yank the New York water permit for the Williams/Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline. Six environmental groups asked the court to vacate the Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) that the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued in November 2025. In a summary order issued Aug. 21, a three-judge panel said no. The permit stands. NESE, already under construction, keeps building. 
Both federal and state regulators signed off last Thursday on PowerTransitions’ purchase of the 1,242-megawatt (MW) Roseton Generating Facility in Newburgh, New York — the sixth and by far the largest gas-fired plant the Houston-based company has grabbed in the Empire State this year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its order Aug. 13 (Docket EC26-95-000), and the New York Public Service Commission approved the transfer the same day. But the most interesting thing in the FERC order isn’t the approval. It’s the name of the company doing the buying. 
Pennsylvania got off easy in the 2026-27 budget. Only one data center bill made it into law, and it was a toothless one. But the Pittsburgh Business Times reports Harrisburg is loading up for another round this fall — and this time the antis have a working blueprint to copy. It’s called New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul banned new hyperscale data centers last month, and where the anti-fracking crowd has already spent a decade proving what happens when a state tells industry to go away. 
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced Wednesday they’ve formally adopted regulations tightening the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — the multi-state carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants — through 2037. The agencies used the words “affordable” or “affordability” six times in their joint announcement. Here’s what they didn’t mention: the price of an RGGI permit jumped 40% in one quarter this year, from $24.99 per ton in March to $35.00 in June. And New York households now pay the third-highest electricity prices in America, behind only Hawaii and California (according to federal data). Six mentions of affordability, zero mentions of the auction price. Funny how that works. 
I&S Inc. of New York, an Allegany-based well servicing company owned by Dan Sessler, is planning a $9 million expansion that will create at least 80 new jobs. The company, which has serviced oil, gas, and solution mining wells since 1988, is purchasing the old Allegany Drive-In property along Route 417 — just up the road from its current headquarters. Plans call for a new 5,000-square-foot office, a 14,400-square-foot commercial shop, and a 9,600-square-foot cold storage warehouse to store pipe for its oil, gas, and solution mining operations. The company secured a 10-year PILOT agreement from the Cattaraugus County IDA. Construction costs are estimated at $7.3 million. 
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is close to issuing an environmental assessment for the Constitution Pipeline, a 125-mile greenfield pipeline from the Marcellus gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, to Schoharie County, NY (see 
In April, MDN reported that PowerTransitions, an independent power producer specializing in redeveloping legacy power facilities, had agreed to acquire five New York gas-fired power plants — Batavia, Hillburn, Massena, Shoemaker, and Sterling — totaling 323 megawatts (MW) from Alliance Energy Group affiliates (see 
Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul had the ignominious distinction of signing an Executive Order establishing the nation’s first statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, temporarily pausing state environmental permit issuance for up to 1 year (see 
The Trump administration and its officials continue to aggressively push the Williams 125-mile Constitution Pipeline project, which would stretch from the prolific shale gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA, into and through New York State, to Schoharie County, NY, to move Marcellus gas into New York State and New England. In June, Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited Binghamton to advocate for reviving the long-stalled project (see 
Data center growth is rapidly reshaping Northeast power and natural gas markets, with projects clustering near transmission lines, substations, gas-fired power generation, and pipeline corridors. Virginia remains the epicenter, led by Northern Virginia’s massive hyperscale hub and tens of gigawatts of planned capacity. Ohio is emerging fast around Columbus, with more than 15 GW proposed. Pennsylvania could become a major growth story, pairing Marcellus/Utica gas resources with large campuses such as Homer City’s planned 4.5-GW gas-fired/data center redevelopment. However, PA is attempting to shoot itself in the foot with talk of both short- and long-term moratoriums on new data center construction. So, the jury is still very much out on how successful PA will be with data centers. 
In April, MDN reported that PowerTransitions, an independent power producer specializing in redeveloping legacy power facilities, had agreed to acquire five New York gas-fired power plants — Batavia, Hillburn, Massena, Shoemaker, and Sterling — totaling 323 megawatts (MW) from Alliance Energy Group affiliates (see 
All we can say is, get the heck out of New York while you still can. Sooner or later, property values in the “Empire” State will crash. (Probably sooner rather than later.) Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2nd Circuit) ruled in support of New York State banning natural gas from being used in new home (and business) construction across the entire state. If it stands, it is the beginning of the end for NY. The end will eventually come when Wall Street firms finally give up and move from New York City to Texas or Florida, completely bankrupting the state from lost revenues. 
Northampton Capital Partners, a middle-market infrastructure asset manager with roughly $1.4 billion under management, has partnered with New Jersey–based Olympus Power to form a joint venture called Winslow Power. Winslow has agreed to acquire three natural gas–fired power plants totaling 752 MW from a Vistra Corp. subsidiary: the 541-MW Casco Bay combined-cycle facility in Veazie, Maine; the 108-MW Beaver Falls dual-fuel turbine in Croghan, NY; and the 103-MW Syracuse dual-fuel turbine in Solvay, NY. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close later in 2026. And yes, there is a Marcellus/Utica connection in this story.