Berkeley Ban on Natural Gas Hookups Tossed by Ninth Circuit (3)

A California city’s ordinance banning natural gas hookups in new buildings was toppled Monday by the Ninth Circuit, which said that the ordinance is preempted by federal law.

The panel’s decision was a win for the California Restaurant Association, which argued the Berkeley, Calif., ordinance was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The city said the ordinance would help control emissions and “eliminate obsolete natural gas infrastructure.” But it effectively amounted to a ban on natural gas appliances, the CRA told the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Berkeley can’t bypass preemption by banning natural gas ...