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RALEIGH - When President Barack Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider rules that block states from adopting their own car emissions standards, environmental advocates in North Carolina began revving their engines.

The federal rules put in place during President George W. Bush's administration were primarily aimed at California, which has long had its own emissions standards and has proposed rules tougher than existing federal standards.

Some in North Carolina would like to follow that new, tougher California standard and say the president's order began clearing a path toward that end.

"The importance of that in limiting tailpipe emission is the quickest and easiest way to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," said Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat.

First as a lobbyist and then as a legislator, Harrison has pushed for a North Carolina law that would require cars sold in the state to emit less carbon, nitrous oxide and other gases believed to contribute to global warming.

Her legislation would apply to new cars and trucks sold in the state, not automobiles already on the road.

As the General Assembly convenes its 2009 session today, she said the bill is more likely to pass than at any point in the past.

In fact, legislators returning to Raleigh will likely be keeping an eye on a range of federal actions. Those include an economic stimulus package that contains billions of dollars for state governments and reauthorization of a joint federal-state health insurance program for children.

Though Obama's emissions order does not hand down money to the states, it does clear some obstacles for environmental advocates and their legislative allies.

"Lawmakers have been hesitant not because of the cost of the program but because of the roadblocks and uncertainty involved," said Margaret Hartzell, an advocate with Environment North Carolina, a nonprofit group that favors tighter emissions standards.

She points out that 13 other states, including Florida, have moved to piggyback on California's emissions rules.

Automakers and dealers have lobbied against the state emissions rules, persuading North Carolina lawmakers to block their passage in previous General Assembly sessions.

"There should be one national standard, not a patchwork," said Robert Glaser, president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association. Allowing the states to put their own regulations in place, he said, would create confusion for consumers, regulators and the car industry alike.

There are skeptics in the General Assembly as well, including Rep. Nelson Cole, a Reidsville Democrat who has been heavily involved in transportation issues.

"The emission standards that would be put in place under the California (standards) add to the cost of cars," Cole said. With auto manufacturers and their affiliated dealers struggling, he said, "this is not the time to be doing that."

Glaser agreed.

"It's quite possibly the worst time possible to file a bill like this," he said.

Automakers and environmentalists argue over exactly how much cost would be added to the car, but numbers range from $1,000 to $4,000.

"I don't think anyone wants to impose any hardship on the automobile industry, but it seems to me they ought to be moving this way anyway," Harrison said.

A major way that cars achieve lower emission standards is by burning less gasoline. With gas prices hitting highs of more than $4 per gallon recently, Harrison said it makes sense for consumers and the environment to burn less fuel.

But Cole said newer model cars are not the problem.

Rather, he said, North Carolina has a high number of cars older than 10 years old on the road that lack modern emission control systems.

Cole said he would file a bill to encourage people to trade in those older cars but would not say precisely what it would
do.

And Cole pointed to recent court decisions that will force the Tennessee Valley Authority to clean up the pollution it is emitting from power plants, which have been a major source of pollution in western North Carolina.

"You need to look at the total picture," Cole said.

Targeting the auto industry, he said, is unfair.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com