Climate and environmental campaigners on Friday applauded a Southern California regulator's passage of a new rule that proponents say will sharply reduce emissions produced by more than 1 million water heaters and boilers by mandating a major shift from gas to electric-powered equipment.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) approved Amended Rule 1146.2, which will require smaller heaters and boilers in newly constructed buildings to meet zero-emissions limits beginning in 2026. Existing buildings will have until 2033 to comply. The new rule follows another first-in-the nation SCAQMD measure approved last year requiring zero-emissions standards for commercial ovens.
"What we're trying to do is figure out how to transform industry and drive the right types of investments... that prioritize low- and zero-emission technology," said Evan Gillespie, a partner at Los Angeles-based Industrious Labs, which co-sponsored the legislation along with the climate and environmental justice group Earthjustice.
According to Earthjustice:
The South Coast Air Basin, which covers Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, is home to the worst air quality in the country. In order to bring the region's dangerously polluted air into compliance with state and federal laws, the air district is tasked with reducing harmful emissions from all major pollution sources. While less visible than emissions-spewing pollution sources like refineries and trucks, fossil fuel-powered boilers and water heaters are a significant source of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) and deadly particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the region.
"When it comes to our industrial sector, we don't have to boil the planet to boil water," said Adrian Martinez, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice's Right To Zero campaign. "With this pivotal rule, Southern California is set to replace over a million pieces of gas-powered equipment with zero-emissions technology."
"This is a major step forward in our region's fight to clean the air for over 17 million people and invest in zero-emissions solutions," Martinez added. "If Southern California can forge ahead and do this, so can the rest of the nation."
