A court battle in Eugene, Oregon, could determine the fate of gas stoves across the nation.
The City of Eugene passed an ordinance in February banning natural gas appliances in new residential construction. However, the gas industry is gearing up to spend millions of dollars on a campaign to overturn the ban.
The outcome of this case could set a precedent for gas stove bans in new homes by municipalities throughout the United States.
“This is something that we want you all to pay attention to because what happens here will spread across the country,” said Sue Forrester, vice president of advocacy for the American Gas Association, per The Washington Post.
“If there’s a win here, it’s certainly going to help the case that you don’t need to be banning gas infrastructure, gas stoves, period, but especially in new construction,” she continued.
In audio recordings obtained by The Washington Post, Forrester said that gas advocates, contractors, labor unions, and utility companies plan to spend $4 million pushing for the prohibition to be overturned.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas City staff are developing environmental policies that could place restrictions on gas stoves, meaning the outcome of the case in Eugene could influence what happens in Dallas.
“People are fighting over trying to transition their car or their leaf blower and their gas stove and not making the connection from their individual actions and the climate-related disasters happening worldwide,” environmental commission chair Susan Alvarez previously told The Dallas Express.
In Eugene, gas appliance advocates will soon go head-to-head with the City government and environmental activists.
American Gas Association President and CEO Karen Harbert said the City’s prohibition would “drive up energy bills for Oregonians with little environmental gain,” The Washington Post reported.
Portland-based natural gas company NW Natural claims the City has transgressed its boundaries by banning gas stoves.
The company has already poured almost $1 million into a petition to reverse the ban. It has gained enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot. This would mark the first time American citizens will directly vote on the allowance of gas stoves installed in new houses.
“Thousands of those residents have already weighed in with the same sentiment,” said NW Natural spokesperson David Roy in an email to The Washington Post. “Which is why NW Natural supports the campaign.”
However, environmental activists have vocally opposed these campaigns backed by companies that profit from gas appliances.
As a college town, many of Eugene’s climate activists are university students.
“The youth vote is what is making the difference on the climate front. It’s flipping seats, flipping states,” said law student Victoria Whalen, per The Washington Post. “It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the students there, whether they will register to vote, whether they will turn out and vote.”
Eugene mayor Lucy Vinis described the ballot initiative as having “a serious chilling effect” and said she thinks “that’s the intention,” The Washington Post reported.
“I believe we’re the vanguard, that we are leading the way for other cities in the Northwest and the nation to follow,” Vinis continued. “And that’s profoundly threatening to an industry that is built on expanding their customer base.”
Another factor at play is the political makeup of the city itself.
“Eugene is a dark-blue bastion for progressive politics in the state,” according to Dylan Plummer of the Sierra Club, per The Washington Post. “I think NW Natural picked Eugene to use it as a test balloon — to say if we can win in Eugene, we can win anywhere.”
Here in Dallas, the City government is also moving forward on a controversial ordinance that, if passed, could ban the use of gas-powered lawn equipment throughout the city over environmental concerns, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.