California Air and Climate: California to Require All-Electric Small Engines; Bay Area to Mandates All-Electric Furnaces and Water Heaters
October 2021
California Air and Climate, Vol. 20
BAAQMD to Mandate All-Electric Furnaces and Water Heaters
On October 7, 2021 the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (“BAAQMD”) held a workshop to discuss proposed amendments to two of its rules (Rule 9-4 and Rule 9-6), which govern the sale and installation of new residential and commercial furnaces and water heaters. The amendments would require zero-NOx emission appliances. Meaning that after the compliance deadlines, all new furnaces and water heaters subject to the rule must be electric.
As proposed, on July 1, 2023, Rule 9-4 would lower the NOx emission limit for new residential and commercial furnaces from 40 ng/joule to 14 ng/joule. The 14 ng/joule limit is currently in effect in two other large air districts in California—the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. By January 1, 2029, all new furnaces sold or installed in the BAAQMD must meet the zero-NOx standard.
The proposed amendments to Rule 9-6 would require all new water heaters and boilers sold or installed in the BAAQMD to be zero-NOx after the applicable compliance dates. For water heaters and boilers up to 75,000 MMBTU, the compliance deadline would be January 1, 2027. For water heaters and boilers sized from 75,001 to 2,000,000 BTU, the compliance deadline would be January 1, 2029.
BAAQMD is accepting comments through November 1, 2021, and plans to present these amendments for adoption in first quarter 2022. More information is available here.
CARB to Require All-Electric Small Engines
On October 12, 2021, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) published a draft rule that would permit only sales of electric engines in small outdoor equipment including lawnmowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, pressure washers, and air compressors. The proposed rule, which would require a Clean Air Act waiver by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement, is applicable to all small off-road engines with less than 25.5 horsepower. The proposed rule would go into effect in model year 2024 for all types of engines with the exception of those used to power generators, which would take effect in 2028.
CARB indicated that its proposed regulations meet the requirements of AB 1346, signed by Governor Newsom on October 9, 2021, which requires CARB to adopt cost-effective and feasible regulations to prohibit engine exhaust from small engines by January 1, 2024.
CARB is accepting comments on the proposed regulations until November 29, 2021, and the Board will consider the regulations for adoption on December 9, 2021. More information is available here.