Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board v. Association of Energy Conservation Professionals

On March 5, 2026, Southern Environmental Law Center announced that the Virginia Court of Appeals had acknowledged the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and its director’s withdrawal of their appeal of a November 2024 trial court decision holding that the defendants’ regulatory action removing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was unlawful. SELC’s press release stated that returning Virginia to RGGI had been a priority for Governor Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones, both of whom took office in January 2026, and that recently enacted budget legislation required reentry to the program.