Court Upholds Landmark Rule to Advance Zero-Emissions Water Heaters & Boilers

Late last Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California upheld the nation’s first rule to advance zero-emissions industrial boilers and water heaters. The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) rule 1146.2 will dramatically reduce smog-forming pollution, cutting the equivalent of half of all NO_x emissions from cars in the nation’s most polluted region. Earthjustice represented the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, and Industrious Labs in the lawsuit.

For the sake of our lungs, we are thrilled this landmark rule to advance zero-emissions industrial boilers has been upheld by federal court,” said Candice Youngblood, attorney on Earthjustice’s Right To Zero campaign. “These machines pump out smog-forming air pollution equivalent to half of all the cars in the LA region. This decision recognizes our air regulators’ long-established authority to adopt life-saving protections — and sends an undeniable signal to manufacturers and businesses that the future of California’s industrial sector is electric.”

In the lawsuit filed last December, a coalition of industry groups claimed the rule was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). This challenge is part of an attempt by the gas industry and its allies to challenge life-saving air regulations in the region. The groups sought to extend a previous Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that preempted a City of Berkeley building electrification ordinance to emissions standards. In the ruling on Friday, the district court judge provided clarity that the Berkeley decision was narrow in scope, and that EPCA applies to building codes that concern energy use, but not emissions standards.

This is critical for efforts by state and local governments to shape life-saving standards to clean up pollution:

“Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that CRA’s narrow holding — expressly limited to building codes that concern an appliance’s actual energy use — does not reach the state regulation of toxic emissions from appliances in order to comply with federal air pollution standards. Simply stated, the SCAQMD Rule does not concern the energy use of appliances under the EPCA and is not preempted.”

“The Court’s decision to uphold common-sense pollution standards is a clear rejection of the gas industry’s extremist agenda,” said Teresa Cheng, California Director of Industrious Labs. “Burning gas has made Southern California a hotspot of industrial pollution. With the law clearly on their side, regulators must move swiftly to pass the zero-emissions standards for the industrial equipment we need to clean our air.”

“This decision cements vital health protections for over 17 million Californians in the Los Angeles area breathing dirty air,” said Kim Orbe, Acting Director of Sierra Club’s Angeles Chapter. “After years of advocating for strong standards to protect air quality and public health, especially in the region’s most disadvantaged communities, we are ready to see these boiler standards put into action.”

Cleaner industrial technology is here: a lithium bromide absorption heat pump, used to recover waste heat to produce hot water or steam for heating and industrial processes. (imantsu / Getty Images)