LOS ANGELES — A federal court Thursday upheld Southern California regulations that will phase out the sale of large gas water heaters and boilers.
What happened: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that the standards adopted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in 2024 do not violate a federal law.
“Nothing in the text, structure, or history of [the Energy Policy and Conservation Act] suggested that Congress intended to interfere with states’ ability to use these well-established methods to achieve compliance with federal air quality standards under the [Clean Air Act],” Circuit Judge Lucy Koh wrote in the majority opinion.
Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee wrote in his dissent that the air district rule was “strikingly similar” to the city of Berkeley’s ban on gas lines in new construction, which the 9th Circuit struck down in 2023. That decision hindered local governments in California from adopting standards that would encourage developers to install electric appliances.
