In the Golden State, the battle between government and industry on the question of gas-appliance bans continues.
Since the end of last decade, state and local government entities have called for the elimination of gas appliance to reduce emissions. In response, opponents have gone to court.
In the latest development, a coalition of industry and consumer groups filed suit against California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), saying that the agency overstepped its authority when imposing a recent rule regarding Nox emissions.
Plaintiffs included associations from such industries as home construction, manufacturing, dining, and lodging, along with groups centered around affordable housing.
“This rule threatens the reliability and affordability of energy for millions of Californians, will impose enormous costs and disruption on businesses and workers, and will reduce the availability of affordable housing,” said the plaintiffs’ law firm, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg, in a press release.
Last June, the SCAQMD imposed a rule that would eventually impose zero-NOx emission limits for certain appliances, including those that heat water. This would apply to the agency’s jurisdiction, which includes Orange County and parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
In a previous case, a court ruled that the U.S. Energy Policy and Conservation Act prevents state governments from banning appliances based on efficiency, saying that falls within the federal government’s authority. As an apparent work-around, some municipalities and regional agencies have tried indirect means, such as banning gas piping.
“Because NOx is a byproduct of combustion, banning NOx emissions bans gas appliances, which operate by combustion,” the lawsuit stated.
