of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the California Restaurant Assn., which filed suit in 2019 against the city of Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas piping in new buildings, reversing a district court that dismissed the case.The panel of two Trump-appointed judges and one Reagan appointee held that Berkeley’s gas ban is preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
It’s a pretty radical view that an energy efficiency law should actually prevent local officials from taking action to phase out gas infrastructure and appliances in favor of more efficient technology such as heat pumps and induction stoves. The ruling is almost certain to have a chilling effect on other cities and counties considering similar bans on new gas hookups. That’s exactly what fossil fuel interests and their allies want.A proposed $9.8-million fine against Southern California Gas Co.
Berkeley Councilmember Kate Harrison, who wrote the 2019 ordinance, wants the city attorney’s office to request a re-hearing of the case by the full appeals court. She said that the legal challenge was really about “the dangerous idea that business profits trump local and state government’s right to protect our community’s health and safety and a habitable climate.