California, federal government in synch on emissions rules

For the first time in a long time, it appears that the state of California and the federal government are working together on establishing a common set of auto emissions standards to reduce the output of greenhouse gases from cars.

The Detroit News reports:

California has agreed to propose emissions standards for 2017-2025 in the same time frame as federal regulators, a sign the Golden State may be willing to seek a compromise with automakers and not adopt separate, stricter rules.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California said Monday they will each propose standards by Sept. 1.

The move “signals continued collaboration that could lead to an extension of the current National Clean Car Program, providing automakers certainty as they work to build the next generation of clean, fuel-efficient cars,” the groups said Monday…

“President Obama’s invitation last year to join with the federal agencies to develop new emission and fuel economy standards has resulted in a model of government cooperation to address the important issues of global climate change and urban pollution,” California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said Monday.

Throughout the Bush administration California had threatened to impose stricter emissions standards than the federal government, which the Clean Air Act allows them to do. That prospect frightened automakers, who argue that having two different standards would make it more difficult and expensive to do business than having a single standard to meet.

Still, this is just an agreement on time frame at this point, not on the actual standards themselves. If they still come out with different standards on the same day, the same problem remains. But it sounds as though negotiator are confident they can reach an agreement on the actual MPG requirements as well.