New York Court Orders DEC to Finalize Climate-Regulations Under CLCPA

On October 24, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was directed by the Albany County Supreme Court in the case Citizen Action of New York et al v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Index No. 903160-25, NYSCEF Doc. No. 93) to promulgate final regulations implementing the emissions-reduction mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The court gave DEC until February 6, 2026, to complete that rulemaking.

Background of the CLCPA and ECL Article 75

In 2019, the New York State Legislature enacted the CLCPA, which amended the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) by adding Article 75, which sets out statewide greenhouse-gas (GHG) reduction targets and assigns responsibility to DEC to adopt rules to meet them. Specifically, ECL § 75-0107 establishes the GHG limits: a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030, and an 85% reduction by 2050.

In addition, ECL § 75-0109 states that DEC “shall … promulgate rules and regulations to ensure compliance with the statewide emissions reduction limits” by no later than four years after the effective date of Article 75. The statute specifies that the regulations shall “ensure that the aggregate emissions of greenhouse gases from greenhouse gas emission sources will not exceed the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits” and that they “shall reflect, in substantial part, the findings of the scoping plan” prepared under the CLCPA.

Accordingly, the Legislature mandated regulation-making as the mechanism for achieving the targets. DEC’s regulatory initiative is central to turning those statutory mandates into enforceable obligations.

The Lawsuit and the Court’s Order

A coalition of environmental and community-based organizations, including Citizen Action of New York, Sierra Club, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo, filed a petition on March 31, 2025, alleging that DEC had failed to fulfill its mandatory duty under ECL § 75-0109(1) to adopt regulations by January 1, 2024. The petition contended that DEC’s delay deprived the law of its intended effect and sought a court order compelling promulgation of the required regulations.

The court found that the statutory language is mandatory: the use of “shall” and the express deadline leave DEC no discretion to indefinitely delay regulation-making. The court granted the petition, concluding that DEC had a clear legal duty and had not discharged it. The remedy: DEC must issue final regulations consistent with Article 75 by February 6, 2026.

What the Order Means for DEC’s Rulemaking Path

Practically speaking, the court order puts DEC on a firm timeline, requiring the agency to promulgate rules that ensure New York meets the statutory GHG limits that reflect the findings of the CLCPA Scoping Plan. (The Scoping Plan was previously developed to recommend broad strategies for achieving the targets.)

What will the regulations look like? Prior to the lawsuit, DEC, in co-operation with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) had begun rulemaking work, including a December 2023 “pre-proposal outline” for a three-part regulatory program comprising: (1) a Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule; (2) a Cap-and-Invest Rule; and (3) an Auction or Allowance Rule.

The court order means DEC must now push that work to completion—ensuring the regulations are formally proposed and finalized, following the required public comment and review under the State Administrative Procedure Act.

Why This Matters for Land Use, Zoning, and Municipal Law

For local governments, developers, land-use attorneys, environmental consultants, and municipal agencies, the decision has important implications. DEC’s upcoming regulations will establish the statewide framework for GHG compliance under the CLCPA, which in turn will interact with municipal planning, zoning decisions, environmental review (under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQRA), and land use permitting.

Once regulations are finalized:

• Entities may be required to report GHG emissions or surrender allowances under a cap-and-invest mechanism. This will affect industrial facilities, fuel suppliers, large emitters, and those integrating development or land use decisions tied to emissions.

• Municipalities may need to consider how their comprehensive plans, zoning codes, and development approvals align with the statewide GHG targets and the new regulatory regime.

• Environmental review analysts may need to factor in the obligations under the future rulemaking when evaluating whether a project’s GHG emissions are consistent with the statewide reduction targets or applicable regulation.

• Developers and land-use attorneys should anticipate a regulatory environment where GHG emissions and compliance costs become integral to project feasibility, permitting, and timing.

What Lies Ahead

DEC must navigate a compressed timeline. Drafting substantial regulations, conducting at least one (often two) public hearing(s) and a minimum 60-day public comment period under the State Administrative Procedure Act, responding to comments, and finalizing the rules all must occur if the February 2026 deadline is to be met.

If DEC fails to adhere to the deadline, stakeholders and municipalities will watch for whether the court will grant extensions or whether legislative amendments to ECL Article 75 might intervene.

The regulations themselves are likely to cover major sectors: stationary sources such as industrial facilities, electricity generation, transportation fuel suppliers, large-scale land-use implications, and possibly linkages between municipal planning decisions and statewide climate obligations. The three-part approach (reporting rule, cap-and-invest rule, auction/allowance rule) provides a scaffolding for the regulatory regime.

In Summary

The court’s decision in Citizen Action of New York sets a concrete deadline for DEC to deliver the regulations required by Article 75 of the ECL under the CLCPA. It enforces the statutory mandate that DEC must act by making regulations that “ensure compliance” with New York’s greenhouse-gas limits. The upcoming regulations will become a foundational element of how land-use, zoning, municipal planning, and environmental review operate in the context of New York’s climate-law regime. Parties involved in municipal or land-use matters should begin preparing for the regulatory changes ahead and consider how the final rules may affect project approvals, permitting decisions, reporting obligations, and compliance strategies.

Jacob H. Zoghlin is a Partner in Underberg & Kessler LLP’s Litigation department and chairs the firm’s Environmental Law and Municipal Law practice groups. He focuses his practice in the areas of environmental law, municipal law, development law, energy law, zoning and land use law, cannabis law, Article 78 proceedings, and related litigation. He can be reached at jzoghlin@underbergkessler.com or 585-258-2834.

Reprinted with permission from The Daily Record and available as a PDF file here.