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Calif. denies it may withdraw from emissions pact Washington -- The California Air Resources Board denied late today that it was considering pulling out of a deal with automakers and the White House to set higher fuel efficiency standards. "The California Air Resources Board is fully committed to the agreement to establish a national vehicle greenhouse gas standard announced last May by President Obama in the Rose Garden," said chairwoman Mary D. Nichols. "There are still difficult technical issues to be resolved, as is to be expected in developing any pioneering rule, but we are confident that they will be worked out successfully. We look forward to working with both the EPA and the Department of Transportation in a spirit of cooperation to ensure the complete success of the Rose Garden agreement." Like some automakers, California has raised technical concerns about the proposed rulemaking unveiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency that sets fuel efficiency standards and tailpipe emissions limits from the 2012 model year through the 2016 model year. California has received a waiver under the Clean Air Act to impose its own tailpipe emission limits. But California has pledged not to impose limits if a successful final agreement is imposed by March 31. The deal announced by President Barack Obama in May would essentially mandate California's tailpipe emission standards through 2016 -- setting fleetwide fuel efficiency standards at 34.1 mpg. But it gives automakers more flexibility, some credits and a slower phase-in than California's timetable. NHTSA and the EPA said the higher efficiency standards would cost the auto industry $60 billion over five years. David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington
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