Did you know the Bay Area regularly fails both state and national standards for air quality? And that one of the biggest contributors might be coming from inside your own home?!? Furnaces and water heaters that run on fossil fuels like gas actually contribute more to our air quality problems than all the cars on the road! The pollution from fossil fuel furnaces and water heaters alone causes up to 85 premature deaths and 15,000 asthma attacks per year, and costs the region $890 million annually in health related costs from air pollution exposure.
But we organized and fought back. In 2023, the Bay Area Air District (the “Air District”) established strong standards to reduce deadly air pollution from the use of fossil fuels in homes and buildings. The regulations, Rules 9-4 and 9-6, create zero nitrogen oxide (NOx) limits on appliance standards, set to take effect starting in 2027 for hot water heaters, and 2029 for furnaces. As the implementation deadline is approaching, there are efforts to add some common sense exemptions to protect low income households, but the gas industry and its allies are working overtime to try to use the reopening of the rules as an opportunity to roll them back entirely.
When we organize, we win. It's time to stand up to big polluters like the gas industry and tell them they don't get a license to pollute in our homes, especially in low income households!! Send a comment in to the Air Board on these important clean air rules so we can protect our homes, our climate, and our wallets from Big Gas's greed. Take some time to personalize your comment and tell them why this is important to you!