[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1589 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1589

   To amend the Clean Air Act to authorize the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency to grant a waiver of the oxygenated 
               fuels requirement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 1993

 Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Clean Air Act to authorize the Administrator of the 
  Environmental Protection Agency to grant a waiver of the oxygenated 
               fuels requirement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether oxygenated fuels 
        (referred to in this Act as ``M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels'') as 
        one means of compliance with section 211(m) of the Clean Air 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(m)), which requires the use of oxygenated 
        fuels to lower the level of carbon monoxide in nonattainment 
        areas, has resulted in excessive health-related complaints in 
        areas of the State of Alaska in which M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels 
        have been used;
            (2) consumer hotlines in Fairbanks, Alaska and Anchorage, 
        Alaska have received hundreds of unusual medical complaints 
        (including complaints of abnormal headaches, sore throats, 
        asthma, light headedness, burning sensation in eyes and lungs, 
        shortness of breath, skin rashes, numbness, swollen tissue, and 
        abnormal congestion) in geographic areas in which M-T-B-E 
        oxygenated fuels are in use;
            (3) tests conducted by employees at the environmental 
        health laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control revealed a 
        measurable quantity of methyl tertiary butyl ether in the blood 
        of workers exposed to M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels;
            (4) representatives of the Centers for Disease Control 
        testified before Congress that more studies were needed to 
        determine the health effects of exposure to the substance;
            (5) no studies have been completed to measure the chronic 
        effects of exposure to M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels in cold 
        climates on public health, particularly in areas that have 
        temperatures that regularly reach 50 degrees below zero 
        Fahrenheit;
            (6) because of numerous health complaints and the 
        conclusions of the State epidemiologist of the Alaska Division 
        of Public Health, the Governor of Alaska suspended the M-T-B-E 
        oxygenated fuels program in Fairbanks, Alaska;
            (7) after the program was suspended in Fairbanks, the State 
        epidemiologist concluded that there is a possibility that 
        similar illnesses are being caused by the M-T-B-E oxygenated 
        fuels program in Anchorage;
            (8) additional scientific studies on the health effects of 
        M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels need to be completed;
            (9) the public should not be exposed to M-T-B-E oxygenated 
        fuels until studies are completed and the public health risk 
        has been assessed; and
            (10) ethanol blend oxygenated fuels are known to separate 
        from the gasoline base at ultacold temperatures and may 
        therefore have drivability and safety implications in Alaska.

SEC. 2. WAIVER OF THE M-T-B-E OXYGENATED FUELS REQUIREMENT

    Section 211(m)(3) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(m)(3)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
            ``(D) If requested in writing by an affected local 
        government within a title I nonattainment area for carbon 
        monoxide in Alaska, the Governor of the State of Alaska may 
        petition for a waiver and the Administrator may waive, in whole 
        or in part, the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) with 
        respect to an area within the State of Alaska that is 
        designated under title I as a nonattainment area for carbon 
        monoxide, if the Administrator finds that compliance with the 
        requirements should be waived for one or more of the following 
        reasons:
                    ``(i) Compliance is not technologically or 
                economically feasible because the technology needed to 
                comply is not commercially available or because the use 
                of M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels would increase the cost of 
                commercially available fuel supplies by more than 150 
                percent of the national average cost of using M-T-B-E 
                oxygenated fuels in nonattainment areas outside of 
                Alaska;
                    ``(ii) Compliance would be unreasonable due to 
                unique geographical or meteorological factors;
                    ``(ii) Compliance could or does cause harmful 
                health effects;
                    ``(iv) The use of M-T-B-E oxygenated fuels 
                increases aldehyde emissions appreciably.
            ``(E) The Administrator shall grant or deny a petition for 
        a waiver submitted under subparagraph (D) not later than 60 
        days after receiving the petition.
            ``(F)(i) The Administrator shall conduct a study that 
        compares the probable health risks and costs of title I carbon 
        monoxide nonattainment in Alaska with the probable health risks 
        and costs of increased noncarbon monoxide emissions (such as 
        aldehyde emissions) associated with the use of M-T-B-E 
        oxygenated fuels in Alaska.
            ``(ii) The Administrator shall report the results of the 
        study of Congress not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this paragraph.
            ``(G) The Administrator may suspend the required use of 
        oxygenated fuels--
                    ``(i) during the pendency of a petition for a 
                waiver submitted under paragraph (D); and
                    ``(ii) until the completion of the health risk 
                study conducted pursuant to subparagraph (F).''.

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