Help us save gas appliances in the South Coast AQMD area!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As efforts continue to ban gas appliances in our state, HPBA Pacific wants to help with this effort so that our own appliances can be saved. As you may or may not know, the South Coast Air Quality Management District is being sued to challenge it\u2019s zero-NOx rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this moment, you may ask why we are supporting an issue that currently doesn\u2019t involve fireplaces- the answer is that our industry will be next!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n These organizations represent an array of stakeholders, including manufacturers of gas appliances, builders, hotel and restaurant owners and operators, apartment building owners, affordable housing advocates, and workers in the plumbing and pipefitting industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Counsel representing the plaintiffs\u2019 coalition is the same counsel that successfully represented the California Restaurant Association in its challenge to the Berkeley, CA gas ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found Berkeley\u2019s ban was invalid and unenforceable because it was preempted by federal energy law. (Berkeley is challenging that decision.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n HPBA Pacific can potentially add our name to the lawsuit as a plaintiff IF we can raise funds and help. Every little bit helps. Please consider a donation if you can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is the press release and background on the litigation as well as the formal compliant.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over Effective Ban on Gas Appliances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A coalition of businesses and workers has filed a lawsuit against the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District) challenging its zero-NOx rule for certain gas appliances, which effectively bans those gas appliances and requires a shift to electric alternatives. The District\u2019s zero-NOx rule is set to phase in over the next few years, imposing significant costs and disruptions on residential and commercial buildings alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coalition members are Rinnai America Corporation, Noritz America Corporation, the National Association of Homebuilders, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, the California Restaurant Association, The Restaurant Law Center, Californians for Homeownership, the California State Pipe Trades Council, the California Hotel and Lodging Association, and the California Apartment Association. These organizations represent an array of stakeholders, including manufacturers of gas appliances, builders, hotel and restaurant owners and operators, apartment building owners, affordable housing advocates, and workers in the plumbing and pipefitting industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRinnai\u2019s brand promise is \u2019Creating a Healthier Way of Living,\u2019 and our products are at the forefront of bringing technology to the marketplace that is going to help win the fight against climate change. We are filing this suit today to preserve that technology and assure that at the same time Californians have safe, reliable, and affordable choices for their homes and businesses,\u201d said Frank Windsor, President of Rinnai America Corporation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaintiffs argue that the ban not only will impose enormous costs on businesses and consumers but also will undermine efforts to provide affordable housing in California. A forced transition from gas to electric appliances will require costly retrofits and replacements, disrupting business operations and impacting service delivery. And this move could exacerbate California’s existing housing crisis by driving up costs and limiting housing options. The suit claims that the District\u2019s ban conflicts with federal energy law and is barred by a recent Ninth Circuit ruling that invalidated a similar ban in Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The California State Pipe Trades Council added, \u201cThe District\u2019s new rule will financially cripple working people. It will require that when old hot-water heaters and other gas appliances need to be replaced, homeowners and businesses must replace them with electric models, and that means remodeling their homes and buildings with new electric systems. For working people, the cost may well be ruinous.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Angelo Amador, Executive Director of the Restaurant Law Center, stated, \u201cThe Restaurant Law Center joined this lawsuit because our courts have already held that states and localities are preempted from directly or indirectly prohibiting the use of covered natural gas appliances, as the District is attempting to do. If these regulations are not blocked, restaurants will no longer have freedom of energy choice and many would lose the option for gas cooking styles for their fundamental taste, plus face higher energy and building costs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe District\u2019s zero-NOx rule places an especially heavy burden on mom-and-pop housing providers, who are being forced to invest thousands of dollars and countless hours just to comply with yet another costly mandate,\u201d said Tom Bannon, chief executive officer of the California Apartment Association. \u201cThese providers already face a complex web of regulations, and this new requirement makes it even harder\u2014and more expensive\u2014to provide housing. We are deeply concerned that this rule will push some of these small housing providers out of the market altogether, reducing the supply of rental housing at a time when California can least afford it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “California’s housing crisis is driven in large part by policies that make it more expensive to build and own homes,\u201d said Matt Gelfand, counsel at Californians for Homeownership. \u201cIf left in place, the District\u2019s policy will reduce home construction, make new homes more expensive, and impose unjustified costs on property owners that will be passed on to renters and homebuyers. We are joining this lawsuit to fight for housing affordability.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The case is called Rinnai America Corp. v. South Coast Air Quality Management District<\/em> and has been filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaintiffs Rinnai America Corporation, Noritz America Corporation, National Association of Homebuilders, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, California Restaurant Association, California Hotel and Lodging Association, and California Apartment Association are represented by Courtland Reichman, Sarah Jorgensen, and Brian C. Baran of Reichman, Jorgensen, Lehman & Feldberg<\/a> and Sean Kneafsey of the Kneafsey Law Firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaintiff Restaurant Law Center is represented by Angelo Amador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaintiff California Pipe Trades Council is represented by John J. Davis, Jr. of McCracken, Stemerman & Holsberry<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plaintiff Californians for Homeownership is represented by Matt Gelfand.<\/p>\n\n\nPresently, there are 10 plaintiffs in this lawsuit:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Here is how you can contribute:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Make sure you put SCAQMD Litigation in the memo line!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCoalition of Businesses and Workers Sues South Coast Air Quality Management District<\/h3>\n\n\n\n