US Oil and Gas Association president says small court victories are critical for gas stove fight

President of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, Tim Stewart, says local court victories are important for striking down natural gas bans.

"A few weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court, which is the most liberal and troublesome court in the entire system, struck down Berkeley's natural gas hookup ban that the city had implemented," Stewart said on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast. "They said that it's a regulatory overreach at that level."

Back in April, a federal court ruled that Berkeley, California, could not prohibit natural gas hookups in new buildings from being set up, citing that U.S. federal law preempts the city’s regulation.

"That sort of sent shockwaves because Washington state a few weeks later reviewed that in court and then they had to back off their natural gas infrastructure ban as well," Stewart stated. "Those court victories are really, really important."

He said that the war against natural gas and appliances is being waged by environmentalist groups with billions of dollars.

"This has been funded primarily by really well-funded environmental groups," he explained. "There's an interesting stat that came out that showed that at least five environmental organizations in this space that are pushing to move this natural gas ban across the country, have a combined annual budget of $1.5 billion."

Stewart said that if the environmentalists are going to play the long game, the oil and gas industry must also.

"The environmental community has a tendency to play the long game really well," he said. "Sometimes they overreach. Sometimes they don't. If we don't remain vigilant on this and we just sort of let it slip away and chase other shiny objects, they'll win. And we're not going to let them win."