Last week’s “Friday Update” reported successful appeals of federal pre-empted and electrification-driven code “scope and intent” final actions on the IECC will undoubtedly energize proponents of these actions to implement the overturned IECC requirements in state and local code actions.  AGA BECS Committee members are urging that members  redouble tracking of state and local code actions in their service territory  to identify efforts to implement these changes locally given:

 

 

AGA’s Codes and Standards program is oriented toward national model codes and standards, but we stand ready to assist members in state and local proceedings once the threat of proposals in conflict with the ICC appeals actions are identified.

 

The BECS Committee has been discussing the attacks on cooking with natural gas for a number of years mainly by supporters of “electrification” who cite this issue as a basis for eliminating natural gas from homes and businesses.  AGA’s Communications Department  provided the following report on an article in the magazine, The Atlantic.  “Yesterday,  October 15, 2020, The Atlanticran “Kill Your Gas Stove: They’re bad for you, and the environment. If you can afford to avoid them, you probably should,” an article that presents an unbalanced view of the scientific literature based largely on claims made by environmental groups, specifically the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), in collaboration with Mothers Out Front, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Sierra Club, in a report titled Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution. AGA reviewed the RMI report, responding to the eight specific claims stated in the Executive Summary of the report. Findings in the report are not justified based on its supporting statements and citations. Furthermore, the report’s conclusions and recommendations are not substantiated for making policy or consumer decisions about energy choices.

The Atlantic opinion piece does little to challenge or interrogate these claims. It further fails to note any perspectives, and specifically absence of urgency for action on gas-fired cooking combustion emissions, from federal agencies with expertise and responsibility for protecting consumer safety, including the EPA and the CPSC. Contemporary reviews by these agencies of all manner of indoor air sources of respiratory irritants have not identified concerns related to use of gas-fired cooking appliances. Overall, this article presents a limited perspective of the topic of natural gas cooking and indoor air quality more broadly. It is worth noting the article states “The role of gas stoves, in particular, as a contributor to climate change is not so clear-cut. They make up only a small percentage of energy consumed in a gas-reliant home. (Furnaces and water heaters are the real guzzlers.).”

 

AGA’s Communications Department has also developed a response that outlines claims from the article and a technically-based rebuttal related to these claims. Additionally, AGA will be submitting a letter to the editor to The Atlantic today.” BECS Committee members should consider providing this information to appropriate departments within your organization.

Following its participation in a State of California Commissioner Webinar Workshop, ““Advances in Scientific Understanding of the Impacts of Indoor Cooking and Associated Ventilation on Indoor Air Quality” held on September 30^th, AGA submitted comments on the Webinar Workshop available here. AGA’s comments in the form of an annotated outline were reviewed by SoCalGas and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), both of which were active participants in the event.  Five general comments were presented including:

 

 

 

 

AGA will follow up with SoCalGas and other AGA members operating in California to determine next steps, but AGA’s immediate task will be to see how the event’s publicity influences advocacy against residential natural gas cooking in other jurisdictions.

 

SCAQMD announce in page 6 of its “South Coast AQMD Advisor” publication for October through December 2020 that consumers should consider switching from woodburning fireplaces to natural gas fireplaces.  The article also suggests considering either natural gas or electric fireplaces as an alternative to wood burning.  This guidance is in conflict with State of California policies advocating abandonment of  the direct use of natural gas and advocacy groups and state agency positions supporting electrification as a means of reducing fossil fuel use in consumer energy decision making.  This was most recently expressed by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and electrification advocates in the California Energy Commission (CEC) pre-rulemaking proceeding to update the California Energy Standard, Title 24 for the 2022 edition.  This conflict points out an important inconsistency between California policy guidance and air quality related guidance, the SCAQMA guidance targeted at reducing particulate air emissions in the State of California due to wildfires raging across the state.

 

[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.]

 

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