A federal appeals court on Monday ruled against the Democratic city of Berkeley’s natural gas ban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the natural gas piping ban in Berkeley, California, violated the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975.
Federal appeals court strikes down Democratic city’s natural gas ban backed by Biden admin https://t.co/1dD1YkggrI pic.twitter.com/vC89vNyfWT
— New York Post (@nypost) April 18, 2023
The ruling went on to note that the left-leaning city essentially violated the EPCA by forbidding gas pipes in new building construction. The law prevents local regulations from affecting the energy use of natural gas appliances.
“Instead of directly banning those appliances in new buildings, Berkeley took a more circuitous route to the same result,” Judge Patrick Bumatay wrote in the opinion of the court on Monday. “It enacted a building code that prohibits natural gas piping into those buildings, rendering the gas appliances useless.”
“In sum, Berkeley can’t bypass preemption by banning natural gas piping within buildings rather than banning natural gas products themselves,” Bumatay continued. “EPCA thus preempts the Ordinance’s effect on covered products.”
The measure was approved by Berkeley’s city council in July 2019 in an apparent effort to combat climate change. It was scheduled to take effect in January 2020, but the California Restaurant Association (CRA) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s ability to pass a law prohibiting new natural gas hookups months after it was authorized.
“The Ninth Circuit has unanimously affirmed the central issue in this case: local ordinances cannot override federal law,” CRA President and CEO Jot Condie said in a statement on Monday. “Cities and states are not equipped to regulate the energy use or energy efficiency of appliances that businesses and homeowners have chosen; energy policy and conservation is an issue with national scope and national security implications.”
The ruling comes as the Department of Energy is still considering regulations that would limit the kinds of natural gas stoves that manufacturers can sell.
It also comes after a Biden-appointed member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission made news earlier this year when he told Bloomberg that a ban on gas stoves was “on the table” due to the product’s alleged negative effects on health.
