The federal district court for the Northern District of New York rejected a claim that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) preempts New York’s statutory prohibitions on fossil fuel equipment and systems in certain new buildings. EPCA preempts state regulations “concerning the energy efficiency, energy use, or water use” of a “covered product” for which a federal energy conservation standard has been established. The New York statutes were enacted in 2023, and the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council (Code Council) had commenced a rulemaking process (subsequently <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/new-buildings-new-york-face-major-shakeup-20786107.php">completed</a>) to amend the Energy Conservation Construction and Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Codes to implement the statutes’ prohibitions. The court first denied the motion by the New York Secretary of State (the only remaining defendant) to dismiss on standing or ripeness grounds, finding that the statutes themselves caused harm sufficient to establish an imminent and concrete injury traceable to the Secretary that was redressable by the courts. Though the amendments to the Codes had not been adopted, the court also found that since “there is no doubt that they will inevitably be adopted and contain the prohibition mandated by the statute,” the action was ripe. The court agreed with the defendants and intervenor defendants, however, that the challenged statutes are not regulations concerning “energy use” and therefore are not preempted by EPCA. The court found that the plaintiffs’ definition of “energy use” was not EPCA’s definition of the term, which is “the quantity of energy directly consumed by a consumer product at point of use,” determined in accordance with test procedures. The court declined to adopt the Ninth Circuit’s interpretations of “energy use” and “point of use” in <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/california-restaurant-association-v-city-of-berkeley/">California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley</a>, and instead cited the dissent’s analysis in Berkeley as well as the analysis of the federal district court for the Southern District of New York <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/association-of-contracting-plumbers-of-the-city-of-new-york-v-city-of-new-york/">upholding</a> New York City’s building electrification law, both of which concluded that “energy use” should be interpreted in accordance with its “specialized” meaning under EPCA. The court was not persuaded by the plaintiffs’ arguments that this interpretation of “energy use” would render superfluous EPCA’s exception from preemption for regulations in building codes concerning energy efficiency or energy use. The court also rejected the contention that its interpretation of “energy use” would conflict with EPCA’s preemption waiver provision. The court gave the plaintiffs 21 days to show cause why the court should not grant judgment as a matter of law in the defendant’s favor.

Challenge to New York laws banning natural gas appliances and infrastructure in certain new buildings.

Mulhern Gas Co. v. Mosley

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Federal Court Said Federal Energy Law Did Not Preempt New York State Prohibition on Fossil Fuel Equipment for New Buildings

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Federal Court Said Federal Energy Law Did Not Preempt New York State Prohibition on Fossil Fuel Equipment for New Buildings

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Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector