Building code amendments preventing new gas hookups in certain commercial and residential buildings in the nation’s capital do not violate federal law, a court ruled this week.
Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia roundly rejected claims by trade associations and others that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act prevented Washington from requiring in 2022 that new and modified buildings be built to a net-zero energy standard by 2027.
The federal law, which sets energy efficiency standards for appliances, bars state and local rules that alter a product’s design. But EPCA does not prevent local or state governments from regulating energy consumption in a particular location, said Reyes, a Biden appointee.
“Plaintiffs provide no persuasive evidence that Congress meant, through the same statute, to trample on the District’s ability to pursue its own environmental goals where they do not contradict federal standards,” she wrote in a ruling issued Thursday.
