Gov. Gregoire�s statement EPA adopting new emission standards

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2010

OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement regarding the Obama Administration adopting new emission standards that will ensure greater fuel efficiency:

�Washington state has been at the forefront of adopting energy efficiencies throughout our economy � in our buildings, our homes, and our cars.

�In 2005, Washington adopted tailpipe standards for automobiles that reduce exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions � while at the same time increasing fuel efficiency. Our �clean cars program� will save Washingtonians some 219 million gallons of gasoline per year by 2016, while slashing almost 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

�I am pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Transportation have helped move the rest of the nation closer to the standards we have here in Washington. This federal program will save our country tens of billions of gallons of gasoline every year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly.

�This never would have happened without the innovation and leadership shown by Washington and other states across the nation, which insisted that automakers produce cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars. This is good news for our country any way you look at it.�