Bay Area Air District Stands Firm Against Fossil Fuel Industry Lies on Clean Air Standards

Contact: Seth Nelson

Following the Bay Area Air District’s May 13 board meeting, where board members revisited proposed amendments and implementation details for Rules 9-6 regulating pollution from residential water heaters, Evergreen Action Deputy Policy Director for Buildings Tony Sirna released the following statement:

“The board made the right call. Their decision to move forward is a win for Bay Area families and a rebuke of the fossil fuel industry’s pressure campaign. Strong clean air standards will protect families from harmful pollution and accelerate the transition to cleaner technologies like heat pumps. Gas-powered furnaces and water heaters release harmful pollution linked to asthma, respiratory illness, heart disease, and premature death. These harms hit disadvantaged communities hardest—communities already facing higher pollution burdens and worse health outcomes. Families deserve cleaner air in their homes and neighborhoods. Delay would not have been a compromise. It would have been a choice to keep polluting in communities that can least afford it. Today, the board chose families over fossil fuel profits.”

“The fossil fuel industry and its allies waged a deliberate campaign of lies and exaggeration to try to delay these rules. They’ve misrepresented costs, distorted the science, and manufactured opposition, all to keep profiting off pollution at the expense of Bay Area families. The proposed rules already include safeguards for low-income households, emergency replacements, and homes facing electrical or space constraints. The industry’s misleading cost narratives conveniently ignore rebates, long-term utility bill savings, avoided gas replacement costs, and the enormous health and economic toll of delay. We are glad to see that the board saw through this disinformation campaign for what it was: a last-ditch effort by fossil fuel interests to protect their bottom lines.”

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