(Legal Newsline) – Restaurants and other businesses have lost their challenge to Denver ordinances that forbid them from using natural-gas appliances, as a judge has found they are not preempted by federal law.
The Restaurant Law Center and the National Association of Home Builders were among the trade associations that sued Denver in July 2024, arguing rules passed in Denver this decade were preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Judge Philip Brimmer disagreed in an August 7 ruling granting the city’s motion to dismiss.
Preemption only applies to energy use requirements on manufacturers before the appliances reach consumers, Brimmer wrote. He relied on a June ruling from the Second Circuit in a challenge to New York City’s ban on natural gas appliances in new buildings that found preemption under the EPCA applies to energy conservation standards, not prohibitions.
“(T)he 2023 standards – which only regulate appliances purchased by consumers and which do not impose requirements on manufacturers – do not regulate energy use as contemplated by the EPCA’s preemption provision,” Brimmer wrote…