On March 1, Pitzer Student Senate passed a resolution to support phasing out large industrial gas boilers in Southern California, including at Pomona College and Harvey Mudd College, after Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) did the same on Feb. 19.
If the regulatory agency South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) amends certain regulations, as the resolutions urge, Pomona and Harvey Mudd would have to replace their gas boilers with electric options based on a phase-out plan.
Industrial gas boilers burn natural gas to heat water for a variety of purposes, including hot water and lab uses at colleges and universities. California has the highest number of these boilers of any state.
5C Environmental Justice (5CEJ) organizers Jaden Yang PO ’28 and Clarissa Aquino PZ ’26 worked with other club members and Climate Action Campaign (CAC) — a San Diego based organization aiming to lower the region’s emissions — to draft and present the resolutions to their respective schools’ student senates.
The resolutions specifically support SCAQMD — which manages air quality of 17.5 million people across Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties — in amending two rules — 1146 and 1146.1 — to phase out large boilers and replace them with electric boilers and HVAC systems.
These rules regulate nitrogen oxide emissions from both small and industrial gas boilers, so amending them to implement phase-out plans would decrease emissions.
Industrial gas boilers are responsible for one third of California’s manufacturing emissions, including pollutants nitrogen oxide and methane. The 5Cs house four of these industrial gas boilers, with one at Pomona and three at Harvey Mudd.
CAC organizer Tomas Souza de Castro broke down the importance of this issue into two main categories: public health and climate change.
According to Evergreen Action, 47 percent of California’s industrial boilers are located in federally recognized disadvantaged communities compared to a national average of 40 percent. Souza de Castro highlighted the boilers’ disproportionate effects on people living in these areas.
“These boilers [are]… invisible killers specifically for low income and communities of color,” Souza de Castro said. “And that’s because of nitrogen oxide emissions, which are often responsible for lung cancer, asthma, and respiratory illnesses that, over time, lead to the deaths of people.”
Aquino, an Inland Empire native, shared a similar sentiment about the impact of air pollutants on her community.
“It matters to me because this is my home, and this is the air that we breathe,” she said. “Growing up, I had a few respiratory issues. I had bronchitis and pneumonia. My brother had asthma. My little brother right now has really bad pre-asthma.”
Souza de Castro said the amendments could improve some of the public health issues facing Southern California communities.
“In fact, if we were to pass zero emission rules, [SCAQMD] projects we would save 3,000 lives over the course of several years, as well as $47 billion in healthcare costs,” Souza de Castro said.
Ongoing climate concerns from gas boiler emissions could be managed by the amendment of these rules.
“Together, the thousands of facilities that would be impacted by this rule [1146 and 1146.1] represent one third of California’s industrial emissions,” Souza de Castro said. “And so if we can electrify those facilities and those boilers, even over time, it would make a significant cut to California’s emissions.”
Gas lobbyists have pushed hard to prevent these rules from changing. In June 2025, an onslaught of AI generated emails flooded the SCAQMD inbox and contributed to preventing stronger regulations against smaller gas powered heating units from being passed.
Opponents of stricter regulations cite the high upfront costs of electric options and potential pressure on the power grid in the region.
Since Nov. 2025, CAC has been working with other colleges and universities in addition to Pitzer and Pomona across the region including USC, UCLA and California State Long Beach, hoping to combat the pro-gas agenda with student voices.
5CEJ organizers hope to facilitate similar support for the resolution from students at Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd.
Harry Webster HM ’29 supported the idea of a similar resolution at Harvey Mudd.
“I don’t know why they wouldn’t [switch to electric] if it’s more economical,” Webster said. “But the thing is [with] the initial upfront cost, they have so much money, there’s no reason not to do it if it’s an investment in the long run.”
A Pomona College spokesperson said in an email to TSL that, at this time, the College does not plan to switch to a fully electric HVAC system due to “reliability and operational challenges”, and plans to monitor changes to SCAQMD policy.
“FCS [Facilities and Campus Services] and Sustainability [Office] are working closely with a vendor in response to evolving SCAQMD requirements, and will continue to examine and evaluate projects that align with these requirements while meeting the College’s operational needs,” the email read.
Drafting revisions to the SCAQMD Rule Book by its board will be taking place over the next year, with a vote on rules 1146 and 1146.1 likely to take place at the end of the year.
Pitzer administration did not respond to a request for comment.