U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The Ninth Circuit held that federal appliance-efficiency law did not preempt South Coast Rule 1146.2, which phases in zero nitrogen-oxide emission standards for specified appliances and process heaters.
Case record
The court affirmed summary judgment for the air district. The majority treated Rule 1146.2 as an emissions-control measure adopted to meet Clean Air Act obligations, not an energy-efficiency standard displaced by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. One judge dissented, reasoning that the circuit’s Berkeley gas-ban precedent controlled.
Manufacturers, distributors, contractors, builders, restaurants, hotels, and property operators should treat local emissions rules as a separate compliance track from federal efficiency standards. Product mix, technician training, replacement planning, inventory, customer communication, and regional demand forecasts may all move before the rule is fully phased in.
The decision resolves this facial preemption challenge in the Ninth Circuit at the panel stage. It does not eliminate product-specific compliance questions, later as-applied disputes, rehearing or Supreme Court review, or challenges to other jurisdictions’ differently written rules.
Primary record
This update identifies the court, posture, holding, and unresolved questions. The linked opinion remains the controlling source.
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