EPA Green Lights California's Emissions Rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted California the right to enforce a 2002 law that mandates deep cuts to automotive greenhouse-gas emissions through 2016, marking an official truce in a long struggle among automakers, the state and the federal government. The ruling follows a settlement on the issue brokered by the Obama administration in May. While to some degree a formality, Tuesday's decision sets what environmental groups and some in the auto industry say is an important precedent. It stands to give California regulators the power to drive national fuel-efficiency standards in the future.