A divided federal appeals court on Thursday affirmed a ban on the manufacture, sale, and installation of certain gas appliances in four Los Angeles-area counties, dismissing industry arguments that the measure conflicts with federal law.
The 2-1 decision, made by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, upheld the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s zero-emissions regulation for large water heaters, small boilers, and process heaters. The regulation, passed in June 2024, combats the nation’s worst smog and aims to achieve compliance with federal ozone standards under the Clean Air Act.
Circuit Judge Lucy Koh wrote for the majority that nothing in the text and history of the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act suggested Congress sought to prevent states from regulating appliance emissions….