- Background
- Policy Principles:
- ACWA
will steadfastly oppose any efforts by Congress to protect
MTBE manufacturers from liability for groundwater contamination.
A growing body of court precedent shows that MTBE is a defective
product whose harmfulness was known well before its use became
widespread. Congress should remove the safe harbor language
from the energy bill before it is put to a vote in 2004.
- In the
meantime, the federal government should grant California a
waiver from the oxygenate mandate to allow refiners flexibility
in using ethanol in California.
- ACWA
members oppose efforts in the pending national energy bill
to provide a ‘safe harbor’ to fuels manufacturers
involved in groundwater contamination .
- Fuel
companies were never required to use MTBE in law. Neither
the Clean Air Act nor EPA regulations require the use of MTBE
or any particular oxygenate. Congress has no obligation to
shield the producers from liability.
- The safe
harbor provision in the energy bill would shift liability
for clean-up away from the polluters responsible for the problem,
onto the backs of water consumers.
- Despite
upgrades to underground storage tanks, MTBE continues to leak
into soil and groundwater (a state of California study found
that as many as two-thirds of the upgraded tanks leaked MTBE).
- Courts
have successfully held oil companies responsible for the environmental
harm and loss of water supplies caused by MTBE.
- ACWA
supports increases to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank
program through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency budget
(VA-HUD appropriations bill).
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