In recent years, local governments have imposed restrictions or outright bans on the use of natural gas in residential and some commercial buildings, mostly affecting new construction and grandfathering existing buildings....more
Amid much fanfare, in 2022, the City of Palo Alto, California, home to Stanford University, amended its building code to require that every new building within its borders be all electric. This followed the lead of the City...more
In April 2023, we reported on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in California Restaurant Association (CRA) v. City of Berkeley striking down a Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas piping in...more
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to rehear a pivotal gas appliance regulation decision has thrown a wrench into local efforts to reduce fossil fuel use....more
The United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 2nd Order and Amended Opinion (“Order”) a challenge to a Berkeley, California, building code provision that prohibited the installation...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit voted against rehearing en banc its decision from last April finding the City of Berkeley’s ban on natural gas connections in new construction to be preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation...more
In April, a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the City of Berkeley’s ordinance prohibiting natural gas infrastructure in new buildings was preempted by federal law. In June, Berkeley asked the...more
In April, the Ninth Circuit held that a city’s ban on new natural gas hookups for new construction was preempted by federal law. This may impact proposed or existing bans in Oregon including in Eugene and Bend, and in...more
Last week, in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, the Ninth Circuit ruled the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) preempts local bans on the installation of natural gas infrastructure in new...more
As Seth Jaffe posted last week, the 9th Circuit recently struck down the City of Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation electrification ordinance that prohibited the installation of gas infrastructure in new buildings, finding the...more
On Monday, April 18, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, overturning a lower federal district court’s ruling to revoke the City of Berkeley,...more
The Ninth Circuit recently weighed in on whether localities’ natural-gas infrastructure bans are preempted by federal laws including the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Some background. Many regulators and...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in an April 17th Opinion a challenge to a Berkeley, California, building code provision that prohibited the installation of natural gas...more
On Monday, April 17, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) decided California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, which ruled that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act...more
Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a very important ruling concerning the regulation of the use of both natural gas and appliances that use natural gas. In California Restaurant Association...more
On Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the City of Berkeley ordinance entitled “Prohibition of Natural Gas Infrastructure in New Buildings” was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The relevant...more
Local or state regulations seeking to decarbonize new buildings by banning natural gas appliances or infrastructure are preempted under federal law according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Cities from San Francisco to...more
Last week, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that the Berkeley ordinance essentially banning use of natural gas in new construction was not preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. I’m not here to opine on the...more
Congress returned from a two-week recess on April 29, with the next one-week recess scheduled for the week of May 27. Since our last update, a number of energy-related bills have been introduced and congressional committees...more