The Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, March 26, unveiled a resolution that would create county laws to protect the use of and access to natural gas for heating and cooking.
The resolution will be voted on by the commissioners at their weekly business meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 1, at the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
The new resolution was designed to bring the county in line with a 2024 initiative approved by voters but overturned by a recent judicial ruling that is now under appeal. Initiative 2066 got rid of restrictions on constructing new commercial and residential buildings that use natural gas for heating or cooking.
“Initiative 2066 repealed unjust regulations that discouraged the use of natural gas, removing penalties for its use in heating systems and appliances across residential and commercial buildings,” Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope said. “The resolution being passed by Lewis County ensures compliance with Initiative 2066 by officially recognizing the rights of residents and businesses to utilize natural gas without interference.”
That voter initiative was struck down by a judge in King County last Friday, March 21.
While the county resolution itself is not yet available to the public, Swope said that the language cites two international codes from 2021 that permit the use of natural gas for heating and cooking.
“These codes provide clear, alternative pathways for compliance with energy conservation requirements,” Swope said, “allowing combustion fueled systems and appliances to be used without penalty.”
The State of Washington in recent years started implementing policies to phase out the use of natural gas for heating and cooking in homes. A 2024 House bill mandated Puget Sound Energy to begin moving away from using natural gas earlier than previously planned, and a rule change by the Washington State Building Code Council incentivized using electric pumps in new buildings.
Initiative 2066, however, would remove any rules that attempt to phase out natural gas or that make it unavailable or financially restrictive to use.
The future of the policy is uncertain as supporters of the ballot initiative have said they are not done fighting for the policy in the courts.
