Washington State Sets New Rules to Phase out Fossil Fuels in New Construction

On November 28, the Washington State Building Code Council approved revisions to its new building codes for new home and building construction, which were originally adopted in May 2023 and scheduled to go into effect last July 1. The Building Code Council chose to delay their implementation, however, in the wake of a federal court ruling that overturned a ban on gas equipment due to pre-emption by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which allows the use of gas appliances. That case was brought by the California Restaurant Association against the city of Berkeley, California due to its ban on gas hookups.