ABERDEEN, WA - A group of gasoline stations filed a lawsuit challenging fuel tax reimbursements to regional Native American tribes, the Aberdeen Daily World reports. The lawsuit names Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, the Department of Licensing and the state as defendants.

The statewide coalition, nonprofit Automotive United Trades Organization (AUTO), is seeking a court order to stop these tax refunds to tribal gasoline stations. The governor inked a deal with the tribes to reimburse most of the fuel tax three years ago.

Tim Hamilton, executive director of AUTO, thinks that the state should not have given more than $35 million to the Indian service stations. "It just guts us," undercuts the competition, he said.

The agreement refunds 75 percent of state fuel taxes that tribal stations collect, which comes to around 28 cents per gallon. Hamilton said that this reimbursement gives tribal stations an advantage because they can operate at lower costs.

Gregoire signed the deals to add clarity to sovereignty concerns between the Native Americans and state fuel taxes gathered at tribal service stations. Prior to the agreement, the tribes had been talking about manufacturing their own gasoline or filing their own lawsuits against the state.

The state Attorney General??s Office issued a letter defending the agreements: "Our lawmakers and policymakers had to choose a path forward that they felt would best serve the many interests of the state," the letter said. "They chose to pursue agreements with the tribes rather than risk protracted and a potentially unending litigation."

The AUTO lawsuit challenges the legality of partially refunding the taxes to tribal gasoline stations under the argument that this violates compulsory rules for spending and distributing fuel tax revenue. Hamilton said the fuel taxes are supposed to go only for highway upkeep.

No hearing has yet been set on the matter.