Stricter emissions rules are adopted
Friday, June 23, 2006
JANIE HAR, The Oregonian

Oregon adopted the nation's toughest regulations on tailpipe emissions Thursday, capping a yearlong debate and handing Gov. Ted Kulongoski a green victory.

The Environmental Quality Commission unanimously adopted permanent rules that start with 2009 cars and light trucks, saying tougher standards will reduce smog, bolster public health and help combat global warming.

Commissioners did so over the objections of the auto industry, whose members say the requirements will increase sticker prices and do little to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The industry is suing in federal court to try to overturn the rules.

Oregon joined Washington and nine other states that have adopted or are in the process of adopting the strict standards pioneered by California. Automakers would have to equip new cars not only for the West Coast, but also for New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and other Northeast states.

"If it was Oregon by ourselves, we may have a problem. But if you have California and Oregon and Washington together, it's going to be a big market and the automobile industry will meet the demand on this," Kulongoski said.

The regulations apply only to new and used vehicles with fewer than 7,500 miles, starting with model year 2009.

The rules won't change emissions inspections for current vehicles. It would be too difficult and far too costly to try to retrofit current vehicles with such state-of-the-art equipment.

The stricter emissions standards would be phased in gradually. Officials said greenhouse gas emissions from cars and passenger trucks should be down 18 percent by 2020 and 27 percent by 2030.

Oregon officials, relying on analysis by the California Air Resource Board, estimated the new requirements will increase the cost of an average vehicle by $200 for 2009 models, including $17 to satisfy greenhouse gas reduction regulations. Costs would increase as much as $1,200 on average by 2016.

But consumers would save about $25 a month because engine efficiency would reduce fuel consumption, Oregon officials said. That's assuming that gas stays at $3 a gallon.

Last summer, Kulongoski convened a group to study adopting California's standards. A few months later, he lobbied the five-member Environmental Quality Commission to approve temporary rules to give automakers notice.

Not all sold on strategy

On Thursday, it took about half an hour for commission members -- all appointed by the governor -- to hear the issue and vote.

Judy Uherbelau, a former state representative from Ashland, was the only commissioner to voice concerns at the meeting. She worried over the burden to automakers and said she has reservations that the rules will reduce global warming.

"If we think that we are going to have a great benefit from this, I think we should rethink. There are other things that are much more beneficial," she said.

The three new requirements boil down to this: Automakers must develop vehicles that reduce smog contributors, such as nitrogen oxides. The rules also encourage manufacturers to develop cleaner vehicles that run on batteries and other alternative fuel sources.

But the primary motivation for adopting the new rules is to require new cars, minivans and trucks to spew less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollutants that contribute to global warming.

Environmental quality agency officials project that the new regulations will reduce emissions by 9,000 tons a day by 2020 and 16,000 tons a day by 2030.

"It's always hard to be an early adopter, but that's what we're doing, and we're projecting it's going to pay off for us," Commissioner Ken Williamson said.

Public support seemed squarely on the side of stricter regulations.

The agency received nearly 5,200 comments in favor of the permanent rule changes and 100 against. Supporters included a coalition of environmental groups, businesses, and religious and health organizations.

About 165,000 new passenger vehicles are sold each year in Oregon, the Oregon Auto Dealers Association says.

Industry warns of costs

Thursday's vote came as no surprise to automakers and some auto dealers in Oregon. Ed Tonkin, vice president of Ron Tonkin Dealerships, said the new regulations would not affect sales as manufacturers will pass the costs on to consumers.

But the Oregon Auto Dealers Association opposed the rules, he said, because it smacked of politics with Kulongoski pandering to environmentalists.

"He's going to cost consumers unnecessarily at the end of the day because they'll be paying roughly $1,000 more a vehicle to comply with these emissions requirements," Tonkin said, "when it will affect a minuscule amount of our air quality."

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers -- which pegs the average price increase closer to $3,000 a vehicle -- has fiercely opposed the rules in Oregon and other states. It sued Kulongoski in state court last year, arguing he lacked the authority to direct the environmental agency to take up the California rules.

Earlier this year, a Marion County Circuit Court judge sided with Kulongoski, and now the alliance has pinned its hopes on a federal lawsuit arguing that California overstepped its authority by dictating fuel economy standards, which only the federal government can set. Trial is set for January.

Kulongoski, a Democrat seeking re-election this fall, has made global warming a priority of his administration. Earlier Thursday in Portland, he announced a new program to help long-haul truckers buy kits that will cut down on diesel consumption. The state will kick in $5 million in tax credits and loans.

The governor said automakers will come around, once they lose in court and realize they can't ignore the demand.

"I ultimately think we will prevail," he said, "and I think it's going to be good for America."