PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Attorney General Patrick Lynch says President Barack Obama's administration has brokered a deal with car makers that has convinced the companies to file papers dismissing lawsuits challenging the state's stringent emission standards.
Lynch said on Wednesday that the deal ends a five-year court battle that began after Rhode Island adopted California's standards for fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes that were tougher than federal regulations.
Twelve other states adopted the standards. Car makers and auto industry groups sued Rhode Island and two other states in an effort to eliminate what they described as a patchwork of regulations across the nation. A federal judge dismissed the suit and the companies appealed.
The two sides resolved their differences after the federal Environmental Protection Agency set tougher emission standards similar to those adopted by the 14 states.
