National Association of Home Builders of the United States v. Montgomery County

The federal district court for the District of Maryland ruled that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) did not preempt the building decarbonization law enacted by Montgomery County, Maryland. The law mandates issuance of new building codes and regulations requiring “all-electric buildings” for new construction and major renovations. The court concluded that EPCA’s preemption provisions did not apply to the County law because the law did not regulate “energy use” at the “point of use.”

A lawsuit filed in the federal district court for the District of Maryland challenged Montgomery County’s local law banning use of gas appliances in new construction. The plaintiffs—who described themselves as “a group of trade associations, companies, and unions that rely on the availability of gas appliances and systems for their livelihoods”—asserted that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) preempted the gas appliance ban. They asked the court for a permanent injunction enjoining enforcement of the ban and a declaration that the ban was preempted by federal law because it concerns energy use of appliances covered by EPCA.