Oregon judge upholds clean-car decision: Washington vehicles now subject to strict new standards

Last month, Oregon cleared the way for the implementation of tough new vehicle emissions standards here in Washington state. Last year, the Washington Legislature handed over its sovereignty to the Oregon Legislature. In a move to distance backlash against promoters, the Washington Legislature passed a measure implementing California’s stringent emissions standards, but only when Oregon instituted the stricter standards.

A few weeks ago, an Oregon judge upheld a move by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Oregon environmental officials to adopt California's tough new vehicle-emission standards. In doing so, the court validated the program in Oregon, triggering the implementation of the program here in Washington state.

Auto manufacturers say the standards won't make cars that much cleaner but could add as much as $3,000 to the cost of a new vehicle.

The effects of smog are visible to the naked eye in California’s metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area where smog is trapped by the surrounding mountains, and Sacramento, where the exhaust of hundreds of thousands of vehicles is accentuated by the 100+ degree heat. Unlike in Washington state, rain rarely cleans the air down there between May and November, allowing the exhaust particles to remain suspended above cities.

Here in Washington, there are far fewer vehicles and the environment is much more capable of compensating for the emissions with the amount of rain and vegetation we have. While we must responsibly care for our natural resources, which may include emissions standards, the solution is to debate the subject in public, not shirk and disguise responsibility to others, particularly another state.