April 19, 2023: On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that Berkeley, California, cannot pressurize a ban on natural gas hookups in recent buildings, saying a U.S. federal law preempts the city’s regulation.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in San Francisco responded to a case by the California Restaurant Association against Berkeley City. In the appeal, the three-judge panel stated that the U.S. Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975 preempts the city’s ban on installing natural gas piping within the recent construction.
“By completely which denies the installation of natural gas pipes within newly constructed buildings, the City of Berkeley has waded into a domain which preempted by Congress,” Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Trump appointee, wrote for the panel.
The decision has ramifications for the efforts by other cities and counties in California to prohibit natural gas appliances in new buildings from helping reduce climate-changing conservatory gas emissions. A dozen cities across the country, which include San Francisco, New York City, San Jose, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, are moving to ban natural gas hookups in some recent buildings, citing environmental and health reasons.
All the judges on the panel were Republican employees. The ruling changed a 2021 decision by a U.S. district judge blocking the challenge to the city’s ban.
Commercial and buildings account for about 13% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions from gas appliances. And a few researchers found that children in homes with gas stoves are at massive risk of asthma and health issues.
Therefore, states like Texas and Arizona have barred cities from imposing natural gas bans and claimed that consumers should have the right to opt for their energy sources.
In a statement, Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the California Restaurant Association, said the city’s ordinance is an overreaching to reach beyond the scope of any town and would limit the variety of cuisine restaurants offer.
“Natural gas appliances are critical for restaurants to operate effectively and efficiently,” Condie stated.
“Cities and states cannot ignore federal law to constrain consumer choice, and it is focusing that the Ninth Circuit is holding this standard,” stated.
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