Update on the AGA/American Public Gas Association (APGA) Appeal of ICC Actions on International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Pro-Electrification Code Provisions – ICC Appeals Panel Established to Address Appeal .
As reported in the May 8, 2020 Update, AGA and APGA filed a joint appeal addressing four code actions that presented two major issues, which AGA and APGA contend should have been prevented by ICC staff during the Group B Code Development process:
· Potential violations of federal pre-emption of minimum efficiency standards for appliances and equipment, and
· Setting of code requirements that are outside the boundaries of the “Intent” sections of the IECC.
(The April 17, 2020 Codes and Standards Update provides additional details on the gas industries concerns with the four proposals.) The joint appeal is directly associated with staff actions in the ICC process, which is a specific appealable class of routes to appeal presented in the ICC appeals procedures documented in ICC “CP1-03, Appeals.” The appeal document is provided here on the AGA committee webpage for the BECS Committee. AGA’s and APGA’s members would be directly and materially affected by state or local adoption of the requirements of these proposals by disadvantaging the competitiveness of natural gas end use applications. The associations are requesting that the provisions approved in the listed code change proposals above not be included in the next edition of the IECC based on the Associations’ contention that the ICC staff improperly processed the four subject proposals. From the ICC appeals procedure CP1-03, the ICC had 30 days to review and respond to appeals and AGA BECS staff has been informed that an Appeals Panel will hear the AGA/APGA appeal later this month or in early July. We will provide the details of the time of the AGA/APGA appeal when available. It is AGA’s understanding that other organization have filed appeals of the IECC validated actions on procedural grounds and theses appeals may be combined on items of similar objections. We will provide the details of the time of the AGA/APGA appeal when available.
BECS Codes and Standards Staff to Review Report “Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution.”
In response to a request from the BECS Committee IAQ Task Force membership, BECS staff will expand review efforts to include the subject report, which was produced under sponsorship from Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Mothers Out Front, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Sierra Club. The report is available here. Earlier reviews did not focus on key erroneous statements and observations such as the use of “peak” pollutant emission data for comparison to time-averaged limits in health-based standards for air quality. Such comparisons present inappropriate and highly biased conclusions that exaggerate the contribution of gas combustion from gas cooking appliances to the residential kitchen environment. Differences in peak-to-average concentration data is demonstrated in the CSA Group NO2 test results discussed in earlier “Friday End Use Codes and Standards Updates” and is particularly pronounced in oven emissions measurements. Also, the cited peak data in the report is significantly different from the CSA Group data and require detailed review. All cited literature in the report will be reviewed for its relationship to claims made in the report and its general relevance to gas cooking appliance use and indoor air quality. Interestingly, the report cover shown below presents an example of a cooktop burner flame that is producing obviously high levels of carbon monoxide due to improper adjustment. This highlights both the need to make sure gas appliances are properly maintained and the potential lack of understanding among the report sponsors of proper combustion to produce useful energy performance for cooking as well as low emissions rates.
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Sierra Club, etc. Call for the California Energy Commission (CEC) to Convene a Workshop on Indoor Air Quality – S&P Article
Related to the item above on gas stoves, attached is a June 3, 2020 request from RMI, Sierra Club, etc. for the California Energy Commission to convene a Workshop on Indoor Air Quality. An excerpt from the letter is as follows:
“The CEC should promptly convene a Workshop on Indoor Air Quality that brings together public health and air quality experts—including CARB staff and academic researchers—to review the best available science on indoor air pollution and health. This Workshop is urgently needed, in order to ensure that these experts’ findings can help inform ventilation requirements in the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. Mounting scientific research finds that millions of Californians are living in buildings where the indoor air pollution threatens their families’ health. Only by understanding the latest research on indoor air pollution can the CEC set the state on a path toward ensuring that all Californians are able to live in safe and healthy buildings.”
Assuming the CEC will convene a workshop, it would be prudent for all stakeholders to fully review the RMI, etc. report to prepare for participation in the workshop since the potential impact on recommendations on the installation and use of natural gas ranges can be significant. One other item regarding cooking with gas ranges of interest is a June 3, 2020 article (attached) that appeared in S&P Market Intelligence titled “Electrification advocates open new front in fight over gas use: public health” that reports on a coalition of environmentalist (i.e. RMI, Sierra Club, etc.) is alleging research that cooking with natural gas leads to indoor air pollution. An excerpt from the article states that “When we were doing the research and talking to experts, we kept waiting for the shoe to drop, and someone to tell us that, ‘No, you’re wrong. Gas stoves aren’t that bad,’ and really it was the opposite,” Brady Seals, a senior associate in RMI’s building electrification program who co-authored the report, said. “The deeper we went, the further we got, we just found out that this issue has been around for so long and there’s been very little done about it.” This statement conveys the need for natural gas advocates to provide fact based responses to the increasing attacks on cooking with natural gas.
State Codes Activity Update
[This is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards.]
Recent Activity Alerts
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State
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Date
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Title
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N/A
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N/A
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NO RECENT ALERTS
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N/A
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Upcoming Code Body Meetings
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State
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Body
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Date
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Address
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Agenda
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WA
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State Building Code Council
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06/05/2020
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Teleconference
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CA
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Zoning Administrator Commission
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06/03/2020
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Teleconference
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DE
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Land Use Committee Meeting
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06/02/2020
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Teleconference
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MA
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Board of Building Regulations and Standards
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06/01/2020
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Teleconference
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FL
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Board of Building Regulations and Standards
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05/29/2020
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Teleconference
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Bills with Recent Activity
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State
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Bill #
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Bill Title
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Primary Sponsor(s)
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Last Action
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Last Action Date
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CA
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Maintenance of the codes
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Andreas Borgeas (R) Maria Durazo (D) Lena Gonzalez (D) Brian Jones (R) Bill Monning (D) Henry Stern (D) Tom Umberg (D) Bob Wieckowski (D) Senate Committee on Judiciary
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In Senate; From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (May 22)
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05/26/2020
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Summary: This bill would make non substantive changes in various provisions of law to effectuate the recommendations made by the Legislative Counsel to the Legislature.
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