New household water heaters and heating systems powered by natural gas would be phased out in the Los Angeles basin under two controversial rules that air quality regulators will vote on Friday.
Manufacturers would sell increasing percentages of zero-emission heating appliances in the four-county Los Angeles basin — beginning with 30% in 2027 — and pay fees if they sell natural gas ones, under the draft rules.
Home appliances are among the largest sources of smog-causing gases remaining in the L.A. basin, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Officials there say the measures would eliminate the second largest amount of pollutants of any rule they have enacted over the past several decades…