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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsNew York’s restrictions on fossil-fuel combustion in many new buildings have now survived a federal appeal. On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed judgments rejecting challenges to New York City’s Local Law 154 and a related New York State law under the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). The decision is a significant win for New York, but it does not resolve the legality of every city’s gas restrictions.
What the Second Circuit decided
In Association of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York, Inc. v. City of New York, the Second Circuit considered whether EPCA preempts the New York laws challenged in the cases before it. The court said EPCA preempts appliance energy-conservation standards and a “fairly limited realm of additional regulations which operate in a similar manner,” but concluded that the challenged New York laws fell outside that realm. It affirmed the district court judgments.
The appellate decision followed a March 18, 2025 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejecting the challenge to New York City’s Local Law 154. The appeal matters: the result is no longer just a district-court decision. But its scope remains limited to the laws and legal arguments before the courts. The Second Circuit decided an EPCA express-preemption question; it did not establish that every building-electrification law is valid under every possible legal theory.
What New York City’s Local Law 154 requires
Local Law 154 of 2021 sets a carbon-intensity threshold rather than naming gas stoves or gas piping alone. It states that “[n]o person shall permit the combustion of any substance that emits 25 kilograms or more of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units of energy” in covered buildings. In practice, the courts describe the law as prohibiting fossil-fuel-powered appliances in covered new buildings. It reaches natural gas and other fossil fuels that meet the threshold.
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The law is not a requirement to remove gas appliances from older buildings. Those buildings are exempt. The district court described the rollout as phased according to building height:
| Covered new-building category | Timing described by the district court |
|---|---|
| Most covered buildings under seven stories | Effective January 1, 2024 |
| Most covered buildings of seven or more stories | Scheduled to take effect July 2, 2027 |
The district court also noted local exceptions for specified emergency or standby-power uses. These dates and exceptions reflect the court’s description of the law; they are not a complete current compliance guide. Building owners and project teams should check the current New York City code and applicable implementation rules before making permitting or design decisions, because amendments and rules may change.
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Why the New York decision does not settle the national issue
The New York outcome differs from the Ninth Circuit’s decision involving Berkeley, California. In California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, the Ninth Circuit held that EPCA preempts Berkeley’s building-code ordinance barring natural-gas piping in new buildings. The court denied rehearing en banc and amended its opinion in January 2024.
The cases involved different legal mechanisms and different statutes. New York City’s law uses a carbon-intensity threshold for combustion in covered new buildings; Berkeley’s ordinance directly prohibited natural-gas piping in new buildings. The Second Circuit’s decision does not overrule the Ninth Circuit. It means the appellate courts have treated these distinct laws differently, and the result for another city will depend on the law at issue and the arguments and controlling law in that case.
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| Dispute | What the law does | Court outcome described here |
|---|---|---|
| New York City Local Law 154 | Sets a combustion-emissions threshold in covered new buildings; the courts describe its practical effect as barring fossil-fuel-powered appliances in those buildings. | The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment rejecting the EPCA challenge on June 30, 2026. |
| Berkeley ordinance | Prohibits natural-gas piping in new buildings. | The Ninth Circuit held that EPCA preempts the ordinance. |
What the ruling means for other cities
For cities considering restrictions on fossil-fuel use in new construction, the Second Circuit decision is favorable authority within its jurisdiction and an important appellate counterpoint to the Berkeley ruling. It is not a blanket approval for every local gas restriction nationwide. A law’s wording and operation matter: a threshold governing combustion is not identical to a rule prohibiting gas piping, and a court’s decision about one ordinance does not automatically decide another ordinance’s fate.
Separate litigation involving California cities also should not be confused with a ruling. In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had sued Morgan Hill and Petaluma over their natural-gas restrictions, seeking a declaration that federal law preempts the restrictions and an injunction. The announcement states the government’s allegations and requested relief; it is not a judicial determination that those cities’ laws are preempted.
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What the court ruling does not establish
- It is not a nationwide decision. The Second Circuit addressed New York City and State laws, while the Ninth Circuit’s Berkeley decision remains distinct.
- It does not invalidate Berkeley’s ruling. The New York case involved a different regulatory approach, and the Second Circuit did not overrule the Ninth Circuit.
- It is not a general ruling on every legal challenge. The outcome concerns EPCA preemption in the cases before the courts, not every possible federal or state-law issue.
- It does not ban existing gas appliances. Local Law 154 concerns covered new buildings and exempts older buildings.
- It does not resolve the DOJ’s separate city lawsuits. DOJ’s January 2026 announcement describes a suit and requested remedies, not a court’s decision.
For construction professionals, the practical takeaway is to treat the New York affirmance as important but jurisdiction- and statute-specific. Before relying on it for a project elsewhere, identify the exact local rule, how it regulates building systems or combustion, and which appellate court’s law governs.
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