DOJ Challenges New Jersey Gas Ban

The Department of Justice filed suit March 31, 2025 against Morris Township, NJ, challenging its ordinance prohibiting gas infrastructure in certain new builds. As the filing notes:

Ensuring that all Americans have reliable access to affordable energy not only makes good economic sense, it also strengthens national security. Standing in the way of that progress, certain states and localities have enacted “energy policies that threaten American energy dominance and our economic and national security.” 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.”

NPGA has long raised concerns about local fuel bans and has been in regular communication with the DOJ for months, outlining the legal and practical problems these ordinances create as well as helping identify local laws in conflict with federal law.

NPGA welcomes this filing and looks forward to continuing to support challenges to gas bans and our industry wherever they emerge.

Questions? Contact Director of Regulatory Affairs and Associate General Counsel Kate Gaziano.