Oregon toughens auto standards

Fri., June 23, 2006

Rachel La Corte Associated Press

OLYMPIA – Washington state’s tough new standards on emissions for cars and light trucks became permanent Thursday after Oregon officially adopted the same rules.

The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission approved the new rules that strive to reduce greenhouse gases and make the entire West Coast a more uniform market for automobile manufacturers.

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the standards into law last year, but the law was contingent on Oregon enacting stricter standards as well. Washington’s law went into effect in December, after the commission in Oregon adopted temporary rules on the standards, but this week’s action makes the law permanent.

The formal addition of Oregon and Washington officially boosts the number of states with stricter emission standards to 11. Besides California, the rest are clustered in the Northeast.

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