We need your help to protect clean air in the Bay Area.

Did you know that gas furnaces and water heaters emit more smog-forming NOx pollution than all Bay Area passenger cars combined? Pollution from these two gas appliances alone causes up to 85 premature deaths and 15,000 asthma attacks per year and costs the region $890 million annually in health-related costs from air pollution exposure.

Health burdens from burning gas appliances fall hardest on our most vulnerable communities as 99% of disadvantaged communities in California face frequent, unhealthy smog levels.

In 2023, the Bay Area Air District voted to establish community-supported standards, known as Rules 9-4 and 9-6, to reduce toxic air pollutants known as nitrogen oxides (called NOx) from gas-burning furnaces and water heaters. These rules apply only when the appliances need replacement; the rules don’t require a change-out of already existing appliances. The rules phase in gradually: 2027 for residential water heaters, 2029 for furnaces.

Now these lifesaving rules are under attack from the fossil fuel industry and some of its allies.

The Air District is working on adding reasonable amendments to these rules. These proposed changes would exempt low-income communities and provide more time for residents with technical challenges to switch their appliances.

However, the fossil fuel industry and its allies are spreading misinformation about the rules and exploiting this amendment review process to dismantle these clean air protections completely.

We need your voice. Tell the Air District Board to protect these clean air rules so they can achieve their goal of safeguarding the air we breathe in our homes and communities. The Board needs to hear why clean air matters to you and your community. Send a short letter today!