The Trump administration has sued Morris Township over its 2022 ordinance banning builders from installing appliances or other infrastructure fueled by gas, oil, or propane in most new rental housing.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Newark, Justice Department attorneys say the ordinance, which requires new apartment buildings with at least 12 units to be fully electric, limits consumer freedom, hikes residents’ energy costs, and “threatens American energy dominance.”
Justice Department attorneys cited an executive order President Donald Trump issued last April as reason for challenging the ordinance in Morris Township, a 15-square-mile township of about 23,000 residents.
“These radical measures ‘weaken our national security and devastate Americans by driving up energy costs for families coast-to-coast.’ Instead, ‘Americans must be permitted to heat their homes, fuel their cars, and have peace of mind — free from policies that make energy more expensive and inevitably degrade quality of life,’” the attorneys wrote.
The lawsuit comes as the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran pushes fuel prices to their highest levels in four years.
Township Mayor Donna Guariglia is named as a defendant in the case, along with the township, the township’s committee, consulting township engineer Joseph Vuich, and construction code official Ron Auth as defendants.
Guariglia told the New Jersey Monitor township officials cannot comment on the lawsuit.
“We have yet to be served but have seen a copy of the litigation. It is currently under attorney review,” she said.
Justice Department attorneys want a judge to declare the ordinance void and unenforceable, saying it’s preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, a 1973 federal law meant to increase domestic fuel supply in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
“In pursuit of ‘electrification,’ this ban denies consumers reliable, resilient, and affordable energy, as well as the use of commonplace gas appliances for cooking, heating, and other household needs,” the attorneys wrote. “The Township’s gas ban is not only bad policy, it is also unlawful.”
The Trump administration filed a similar lawsuit against two California towns in January.
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