[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S114-S115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 1576. A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to permit the exclusive 
application of California State regulations regarding reformulated 
gasoline in certain areas within the State; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.


              THE MTBE CLEAN AIR ACT AMENDMENT ACT OF 1998

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
which will amend the Clean Air Act to allow California to operate its 
own reformulated gasoline program, which is stricter than the federal 
program and meets the air quality requirements set forth in the 1990 
Clean Air Act.


                           What the bill does

  The bill provides that if a state's reformulated gasoline rules 
achieve equal or greater emissions reductions than federal regulation, 
that state's rules will take precedence. This works to exempt 
California from overlapping federal oxygenate requirements.
  The bill is the Senate version of legislation introduced last year in 
the House by Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) and cosponsored by 
46 members of the California Congressional delegation.
  The bill applies only to states which have received waivers under 
Section 209(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, for which California is the 
only state currently eligible for such a waiver.
  By exempting California from the oxygenate requirement, this 
legislation will give gasoline manufacturers the flexibility to reduce 
or even eliminate the use of gasoline oxygenates, such as methyl 
tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)--which has been detected in alarming 
amounts in California groundwater.
  The legislation allows the companies who serve California's gasoline 
needs to continue to adopt better methods of producing California 
Cleaner Burning gasoline, without being restricted by oxygenate 
requirements.


                     california air quality history

  California's efforts to improve air quality predate similar federal 
efforts, and have achieved marked success in reducing toxic emission 
levels, resulting in the cleanest air Californians have seen in 
decades. This trend will continue with the passage of this bill.
  Since the introduction of the California Cleaner Burning Gasoline 
program, there has been a 300 ton per day decrease in ozone forming 
ingredients found in the air. This is the emission reduction equivalent 
of taking 3.5 million automobiles off the road. California reformulated 
gasoline reduces smog forming emissions from vehicles by 15 percent.
  The state has also has seen a marked decrease in first stage smog 
alerts, during which residents with respiratory ailments are encouraged 
to stay indoors.
  California Environmental Protection Agency Chairman John Dunlop, who 
supports this legislation, says:

       . . . our program has proven (to have) a significant effect 
     on California's air quality. Following the introduction of 
     California's gasoline program in the spring of 1996, monitor 
     levels of ozone . . . were reduced by 10 percent in Northern 
     California, and by 18 percent in the Los Angeles area. 
     Benzene levels (have decreased) by more than 50 percent.

  Although California has made great progress in decreasing the amount 
of toxins in the air, the overlap of federal regulations, on top of the 
strict state regulations, does not allow the state much flexibility in 
the design and implementation of its reformulated fuels program.
  This inflexibility makes it difficult for gasoline producers to 
respond effectively to unforeseen problems associated with their 
product. Such is the case with the oxygenate MTBE leaking into 
California groundwater.
  Refiners are bound by federal law to include an oxygenate in their 
gasoline, even if they can make gasoline which meets Clean Air Act 
emissions requirements without its use.
  Thus, the need for the legislation is twofold--to streamline 
overlapping federal and state regulations, and to allow gasoline 
manufacturers the flexibility to make California Cleaner Burning 
Gasoline without oxygenated fuels.


           Federal reformulated gasoline requirement history

  Federal reformulated gasoline, and the oxygenate requirement included 
in it, came as a response to the worsening air quality of many American 
cities.
  For many years major cities, including San Diego, Sacramento and Los 
Angeles, were facing serious pollution problems due to increasing 
amounts of smog and ozone in the air.
  As the air quality worsened, people around the country began 
experiencing more frequent respiratory illnesses, and increased asthma 
attacks due to the toxins in the air.
  In 1990, Congress recognized the gravity of this national problem and 
amended the Clean Air Act to ensure that our nation's most smoggy and 
polluted areas were the beneficiaries of tougher motor vehicle emission 
control standards.
  One of these amendments directed the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt a federal reformulated gasoline 
program for urban areas with the most serious pollution problems.
  The federal reformulated gasoline program mandated that this new 
cleaner burning gasoline reduce emissions of benzene, a known human 
carcinogen, and other toxins.
  The federal program also mandated that this reformulated gasoline 
contain 2 percent by weight oxygenate, which functions to make the gas 
burn more completely and efficiently.


                    california reformulated gasoline

  By December 1994, the oxygenate requirement went into effect. In 
California, this mandate affected three cities in particular, where the 
air quality was the worst.
  Reformulated gasoline was required to be sold during the winter 
season in the greater Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento regions. 
This gasoline contained 11 percent MTBE, in order to meet the federal 
oxygenate requirement.
  While federal Clean Air Act regulations were being promulgated, the 
California Air Resources Board developed even tougher and more 
stringent environmental standards. However, these standards permitted 
more flexibility in how they could be achieved by California's gasoline 
manufacturers.
  By establishing a State Implementation Plan which restricts eight 
different properties that affect emissions of toxic air pollutants and 
ozone forming compounds, California's stricter regulations were 
approved by the U.S. EPA and are federally enforceable.
  Additionally, California regulations contain an innovative predictive 
model which is based on the analysis of a large number of vehicle 
emission test studies. Refiners have the option of using this model to 
produce reformulated gasoline as long as its usage results in 
equivalent or greater reductions in emissions than federal regulations. 
California EPA states that the predictive model ``shows that a 
different formulation will achieve equivalent or better air quality 
benefits.''
  While the amendments to the Clean Air Act have helped reduce 
emissions throughout the United States, they imposed limitations on the 
level of flexibility that U.S. EPA can grant to California.
  The overlapping applicability of both the federal and state 
reformulated gasoline rules has actually prohibited gasoline 
manufacturers from responding as effectively as possible to unforeseen 
problems with their product. This bill addresses exactly this type of 
situation.
  This legislation rewards California for its unique and effective 
approach in solving its own air quality problems by permitting it an 
exemption from federal oxygenate requirements as long as tough 
environmental standards are enforced.

[[Page S115]]

              mtbe contamination of california groundwater

  This legislation will allow refiners to address the problems that 
have occurred with the use of MTBE as it has leaked into groundwater 
supplies.
  Such problems were certainly not anticipated during the drafting of 
these amendments, and therefore only exemplifies the need for a 
California exemption to this requirement.
  MTBE is a highly soluble organic compound which moves quickly through 
soil and gravel, therefore posing a more rapid threat to aquifers than 
the other constituents of gasoline when leaks occur. MTBE is easily 
traced, but very difficult and expensive to clean up.
  Higher quantities of MTBE in drinking water has a smell similar to 
turpentine and a taste like paint thinner.
  Although we do not have all of the data we need to determine the 
potential damage of MTBE to our water and our health, we do know that 
it is increasingly a problem for California:
  MTBE has been detected in drinking water supplies in a number of 
cities including Santa Monica, Riverside, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San 
Francisco;
  MTBE has also been detected in numerous California reservoirs 
including Lake Shasta in Redding, San Pablo and Cherry reservoirs in 
the Bay Area, and Coyote and Anderson reservoirs in Santa Clara;
  The largest contamination occurred in the city of Santa Monica, which 
lost 75% of its ground water supply as a result of MTBE leaking out of 
shallow gas tanks beneath the surface;
  MTBE has been discovered in publicly owned wells approximately 100 
feet from City Council Chamber in South Lake Tahoe;
  In Glennvile, California, Near Bakersfield, MTBE levels have been 
detected in groundwater as high as 190,000 parts per billion--
dramatically exceeding the California Department of Health advisory of 
35 parts per billion; and
  250 underground fuel tank sites have leaked MTBE in Santa Clara 
County not far from water wells used by the residents of San Jose.
  In the face of mounting evidence of extensive MTBE contamination in 
California groundwater, several gasoline manufacturers, including 
Chevron and Tosco (Union 76), have made it clear they would like to 
have the flexibility to use only the amount and type of oxygenate 
necessary to continue to meet the environmental specifications of clean 
burning gasoline.
  Many manufacturers believe that it is possible to meet California's 
more stringent clean air standards using reduced amounts of, or in some 
cases, no oxygenate in their gasolines.
  In a recent letter to me, Chevron chairman Ken Derr expressed 
his belief that while he believes MTBE is safe if handled properly, his 
company is exploring other options. He says:

       (Chevron has) taken another look at the extensive body of 
     data that relates to fuel composition to vehicle emissions 
     and have concluded that it may be possible to make more 
     gasoline without MTBE and still meet California's cleaner 
     burning gasoline standards.

  If California refiners can meet the stricter state clean air standard 
while reducing or eliminating the use of a chemical that is 
contaminating California water, it makes good sense to give them the 
flexibility they need to solve the problem.
  By amending the Clear Air Act to waive the requirement for oxygenates 
in California, which already has in place its own stricter standards, 
this legislation does not detract in any way from the gains in emission 
reductions mandated in the Clear Air Act. It will simply allow for 
companies like Chevron to meet Clean Air Act requirements, while 
maximizing the advantages of increased flexibility in order to respond 
more efficiently and effectively to any unforseen problems encountered 
in the production of California cleaner burning gasoline.
  If exempting California from the oxygenate requirement meant 
weakening the Clear Air Act in any way, I would be the first person to 
stand up and lead the battle against such an effort.
  This bill does not weaken the Clear Air Act, but instead is a step in 
the right direction, towards sound environmental policy.
  This narrowly-targeted legislation simply makes sense. With this 
bill, California is once again taking the initiative to lead the way in 
ensuring the protection of the air we breathe, and the water we drink.
  By allowing the companies that supply our state's gasoline to utilize 
good science and sound environmental policy, we can achieve the goals 
set forth by the Clear Air Act, without sacrificing California's clean 
water.
  In short, when we pass this legislation, we will take another step 
forward in ensuring that protecting our air qualify does not come at 
the expense of safeguarding our water.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1576

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

     SECTION 1. CALIFORNIA REFORMULATED GASOLINE RULES.

       Section 211(c)(4)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
     7545(c)(4)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
     ``If any such State that has received a waiver under section 
     209(b)(1) promulgates reformulated gasoline rules for any 
     covered area of the State (as defined in subsection (k)(10)), 
     the rules shall apply in the area in lieu of the requirements 
     of subsection (k) if the State rules will achieve equivalent 
     or greater emission reductions than would result from the 
     application of the requirements of subsection (k) in the case 
     of the aggregate mass of emissions of toxic air pollutants 
     and in the case of the aggregate mass of emissions of ozone-
     forming compounds.''.
                                 ______