Multiple environmental organizations have joined an existing legal challenge to the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power regarding their approval of a retrofit project at the Scattergood Gas Plant. The lawsuit, initially filed in December by Communities for a Better Environment and Los Angeles Waterkeeper, now includes Food & Water Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility—Los Angeles, Sierra Club, and Center for Biological Diversity as parties challenging the project.
The retrofit would enable the Scattergood Gas Plant to continue operations beyond its originally planned closure date by utilizing a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas as fuel. LADWP announced the retrofit plan in 2022, and in 2025, the agency’s Board of Commissioners approved an Environmental Impact Report supporting the project despite significant public opposition. Critics raise concerns about the proposal’s climate implications, hydrogen safety risks, and substantial water requirements needed for plant operations.
The legal challenge centers on allegations that the City and LADWP failed to properly comply with the California Environmental Quality Act in their environmental review process. An earlier stay on litigation was lifted following an August 4, 2026 City Council vote that denied the environmental groups’ appeal of the LADWP Board’s approval decision, allowing the lawsuit to proceed with its expanded roster of plaintiffs.
Opponents of the retrofit contend that the environmental analysis supporting the project contains significant deficiencies and that the proposal contradicts Los Angeles’s stated commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. The groups argue that retrofitting the facility to burn hydrogen alongside methane would lock the city into continued dependence on fossil fuel infrastructure rather than advancing toward genuine climate goals.
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