Federal Court Overturns Nation's First Natural Gas Ban

A Ninth Circuit court on Monday went against a Berkeley ordinance that banned natural gas piping in new buildings inside the city. A district court had dismissed an action from the California Restaurant Association, a dismissal that is now reversed by the Ninth Circuit court, according to its published opinion on the case (pdf). The California Restaurant Association alleged that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempts the city of Berkeley’s regulation, which banned natural gas piping in new buildings. The Act expressly preempts State and local regulations on the...