Staff and faculty of the UCLA Emmett Institute filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit defending the right of air pollution regulators to set important standards under the Clean Air Act to protect public health. The case is Rinnai America Corp.et al. v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, and it involves a challenge to South Coast AQMD's recent efforts to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution by accelerating the transition to zero-NOx-emissions models for certain water heaters and boilers.

Air pollution regulators are calling on the Ninth Circuit to affirm the District Court's ruling, which upheld South Coast's emission standard against Plaintiffs' legal challenge. This amicus brief supports the District Court's holding that South Coast's emission standard is not preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act. If the Ninth Circuit were to reverse the District Court's decision, it would endanger a large swath of air quality rules across the country — beyond just the scope of zero-NOx rules for appliances — and threaten air agencies' ability to comply with the Clean Air Act's requirement that state and local air agencies attain federal air quality standards.

Emmett/Frankel Fellow Brennon Mendez, Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic Director Cara Horowitz, and Shapiro Fellow Tiffany Deguzman filed the brief through the Wells Clinic on behalf of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). This brief advances NESCAUM's strong interest in ensuring that the Ninth Circuit understands the implications of this case for the balance of federal, state, and local power in air quality regulation, including with regard to air pollution control in states other than California. The case is Rinnai America Corp. et al. v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, 9th Cir. Case No. 25-5129.

Read the brief.