On 7-5 vote, AQMD rejects gas appliance surcharge aimed at improving air quality

On a 7 to 5 vote, the South Coast Air Quality Management District on Friday rejected controversial measures aimed at reducing air pollution by imposing surcharges that could make natural gas-powered water heaters and furnaces more expensive to buy.

In voting to deny the measures, AQMD board member Janet Nguyen said the rule would unnecessarily penalize people by raising the cost of household appliances.

“I, like everybody here, support clean air,” said Nguyen, who also serves as an Orange County supervisor. “But we must also pursue environmental progress without punishing the very people we serve today. These rules don’t target refineries or shipping ports. They target people, the 17 million homeowners, renters …”

Board member Holly Mitchell took the other side, saying the rules were needed to improve air quality in the nation’s smoggiest air basin.

“We have to make tough decisions on the greater good every day,” Mitchell said. “I think that we have to do what we can as quickly as we can, to get into [air quality] attainment, to avoid federal penalties and to do what’s in the best interest of the public’s health.”

The AQMD governing board’s vote followed a warning Friday from Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, that any action to impede the use of domestic energy resources would face a legal challenge by his office.

“California regulators are on notice: if you pass illegal bans or penalties on gas appliances, we’ll see you in court,” Essayli said on X. “The law is clear—feds set energy policy, not unelected climate bureaucrats.”

During a six-hour public hearing before the vote, environmental advocates favoring the measure squared off against Southern California Gas, the largest gas utility in the nation, and others who said the measures would make gas appliances less affordable and place a greater burden on an already-stressed electrical grid.

“It would be a devastating financial blow to our most low-income and senior, vulnerable citizens,” said Bob Karwin, mayor pro tem of the Riverside County city of Menifee. “If electric was better, cheaper, faster and safer, people would choose it on their own.”

Lynwood City Councilman Juan Muñoz-Guevara countered that the clean air standards cannot be reached without the measures.

“Gas appliances in our home are now one of the largest sources of smog-forming pollution in the region,” Muñoz-Guevara said. “The proposed rules are a long-overdue step toward environmental justice. They will save lives and begin to correct decades of pollution burden on front-line communities.”

The measures denied Friday would’ve imposed pollution-mitigation fees on manufacturers that sell gas-powered furnaces and water heaters in the region. The amount of these fees would’ve depend on manufacturers’ compliance with newly established sales targets for electric space and water heaters.

To meet the targets, 30% of manufacturers’ sales would have needed to consist of zero-emission models starting in 2027. That would rise to 50% in 2029 and eventually 90% by 2036.

Under the rule, manufacturers would be charged $100 for each gas furnace and $50 for every gas water heater they sell within the targets. For sales that exceed the cap, they would pay $500 and $250, respectively. Revenue from these fees would be used to help pay for zero-emission appliances, especially in disadvantaged communities, according to the air district.

The rules were expected to significantly boost the installation of zero-emission heating equipment across Southern California, gradually displacing some of the region’s 10 million gas-powered furnaces and water heating units. The policy would apply across the air district’s jurisdiction, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and a portion of San Bernardino counties.

Once fully implemented, they were expected to prevent the release of 6 tons of smog-forming nitrogen dioxides each day — roughly the amount released by two natural gas power plants. It is also expected to avert nearly 2,500 premature deaths and more than 10,000 new cases of asthma, according to the air district.

Ahead of the vote, the air district was flooded with more than 14,000 public comments, most of which were opposed to the new rules, and more than 100 people packed the air district’s headquarters in Diamond Bar for Friday’s vote.

Environmental advocates were seated in the gallery holding signs that read “Delay is Deadly” and “Clean Air Now.” They shared the room with safety vest-clad labor union representatives who opposed the rules.

Many opponents argued that heat pumps are several thousands of dollars more expensive than gas furnaces. However, air district officials noted that heat pumps are dual-purpose appliances providing heating and cooling that can replace furnaces and air conditioning. When viewed through that lens, replacing both appliances can save homeowners money, according to the air district.

For decades, Southern California has failed to comply with federal air quality standards for smog. The failed regulations were among the latest actions designed to reduce smog-forming emissions from gas appliances. Last year, the board voted to enact a new rule phasing out gas-fired water heating equipment for pool and hot-tub owners.

In recent years, regulation that aims to transition away from gas appliances have become more politically charged, with a number of Republican elected officials vowing to fight rules that would ban the sale of gas appliances, such as stoves.