WA Healthy State Building Codes Threatened by Lawsuit

For Immediate Release: May 24, 2023

WA Building Codes Council Acts to Keep New Construction Codes on Track for Clean and Efficient Heating and Cooling

Move comes as gas industry marshals its national playbook locally in Wash. with lawsuit aimed at unwinding state action for healthy homes and buildings 

Washington’s State Building Code Council (SBCC) took action today to keep its recently updated construction codes for new homes and buildings on track to continue to drive the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy for space and water heating. The council’s action comes on the heels of a new gas industry lawsuit, just filed earlier this week, aiming to block updated the construction codes approved last year that were supported by thousands of Washingtonians. 

SBCC members voted to start a process to make several minor changes to both the commercial and residential codes to safeguard the policies from legal challenges. The gas industry’s suit, filed on behalf of plaintiffs including Northwest Natural and Avista, appears to be an attempt to leverage the recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision which found that a policy to restrict gas infrastructure by Berkeley, California, was preempted by federal law.  

“The SBCC is taking no chances and adding extra insulation to the new construction codes in the face of underhanded and deeply self-interested tactics by the gas industry to use the 9th circuit's over-reaching decision to undo any and all state and local actions to ensure new buildings are climate-friendly,” noted Dylan Plummer, senior campaign representative with the Sierra Club. “The gas industry’s lawsuit is an insult to Washingtonians who overwhelmingly want action on climate change.” 

The lawsuit on Berkeley’s ordinance was financially backed by SoCalGas, the largest gas utility in the country. An industry analyst has called the 9th Circuit ruling a “playbook” opportunity for the gas industry to “storm the walls” of local policies. 

"Washington's State Energy Strategy found that electrification is the lowest-cost pathway to achieving our statutory climate targets, and accordingly, the Washington Legislature directed the State Building Code Council to pass codes that achieve the goal of building zero fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emission homes and buildings by the year 2031,” said Deepa Sivarajan, Washington Local Policy Manager for Climate Solutions. “Upholding the intent of Washington's clean codes is crucial to ensuring that new buildings in Washington aren't digging us deeper into a fossil fuel future, as well as reducing air pollution and increasing resilience by preferring electric heat pumps that offer both heating and cooling." 

The SBCC is moving the codes to a performance standard approach, which uses an efficiency benchmark that is based on the top-flight cost-effective performance on the market. Heat pumps, which provide both AC and heat in the same unit, run up to three times more efficiently than gas furnaces, and will save Washingtonians $1,000 a year according to the Department of Commerce. 

“Heat pumps are already the go-to in new construction today for performance, efficiency, lower energy bills and clean air, and updating building codes accordingly is common sense,” said Rachel Koller, Managing Director with Shift Zero. “Nearly 5,000 people submitted public comments or testified in support of the updated building codes. It’s only May and we’ve already had days of record-breaking heat. Washingtonians want to transition to clean, electric heating and cooling in their homes.”

Jonny Kocher, Manager at RMI stated, “Most new homes in Washington are already being built with heat pumps for space heating because it's the most cost-effective and climate-friendly solution. Even with minor revisions by the SBCC to reduce legal risk, the next code will push the market for clean electric heating and cooling even further. RMI is confident that an all-electric future for new homes and buildings in Washington is here to stay and that Washingtonians will benefit from the clean air, energy savings, and fewer climate-warming emissions that building electrification delivers.”

The industry representatives participating in the lawsuit have attempted to fight the transition away from polluting gas in buildings for years. Northwest Natural has previously sued Oregon over its climate change policies, and has been preparing to run a $4 million ballot measure campaign in the small city of Eugene, OR over that community’s commitment to all-electric new construction. The New York Times reported this year that Northwest Natural hired a mercenary toxicologist in an attempt to downplay the health risks of gas stoves. Last year, current and former Oregon lawmakers and 32 organizations submitted a petition to the Oregon Department of Justice calling for an investigation into NW Natural for false advertising and advertising to children. The Spokane Home Builders Association previously attempted to run a ballot measure in Spokane that would have preemptively prevented any requirement to move to more efficient, electric new buildings, before the measure was thrown out in court.

The SBCC’s action today will prompt a couple-month process for the changes to the residential and commercial building codes to be proposed and go through public comment. Code updates could then go into effect after the SBCC votes, likely this fall.
Contacts: Tiffany Cain, tiffany@resource-media.org; Stephanie Noren, stephanie.noren@climatesolutions.org; Sage Welch, sage@sunstonestrategies.org

Read more in this Politico article on the legal threat to the WA SBCC codes.