[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 25 (Friday, March 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1695-S1696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      METHYL TERTIARY BUTYL ETHER

  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Madam President, I want to speak briefly 
on four issues this morning. Let me start, first, with the issue of 
MTBE, which is probably not a household word in many States. It is 
methyl tertiary butyl ether. I will be calling it MTBE from now on in 
these remarks.
  Over the past few years, countless families and businesses in my 
State and throughout the Nation have learned firsthand the devastating 
effect of this gasoline additive known as MTBE. It is in our drinking 
water. People can't shower because of the smell. They cannot drink the 
water. Their homes have to have three or four huge tanks with filters 
in order to be able to drink and use their water. It depreciates the 
value of their home. This is a real problem nationally.
  Fortunately, there is help on the way. I am very pleased that the 
energy package we are now considering finally contains a solution.
  I thank the majority leader for including my legislation in the 
Federal Reform Leaded Fuels Act in the energy package that we are 
debating. This legislation was voted out of committee both last 
Congress and this Congress. I am pleased that it will finally get a 
vote, I hope, on the Senate floor.
  I thank a lot of people who helped. This does not come easy. We all 
have strong views. We have a number of different interests: Those who 
produce the MTBE, those who produce ethanol, those who refine gasoline, 
those regions of the country that can't use ethanol for various 
reasons, and those who are worried about the higher cost, if they do.
  It took a lot of compromise and a lot of negotiations, which we have 
been working on now for many months--particularly Senator Reid of 
Nevada, Senator Voinovich, Senator Jeffords, Senator Inhofe, Senator 
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Senator Hagel, and Senator Murkowski--there are 
others, but in particular their hard work and cooperation with my 
staff.
  I also want to say that the refiners, the ethanol producers, the 
environmental groups--all of them--have worked with me over the last 
few years to reach a consensus. It was not easy, that is for sure, with 
so many diverse issues and views.
  I thank all of them for negotiating in good faith and keeping the 
work product to ourselves as we went through this.
  The result is good. It is a comprehensive legislative package that 
protects our drinking water while preserving air quality and minimizing 
negative impacts on gasoline prices and supply.
  Understanding where we are, it is worth taking a step back to discuss 
how and why we got to this point.
  In 1990, the Clean Air Act was amended to include a reformulated 
gasoline program. This program requires clean burning gasoline in 
specified areas with high levels of air pollution. Four counties in 
southern New Hampshire chose to participate. The program has been 
successful in achieving the air quality benefits beyond our 
requirements.
  Unfortunately, one provision of the program mandates the use of an 
oxygenate in areas that use reformulated gas, requiring States to use 
MTBE or ethanol. Because New Hampshire is far from ethanol production, 
economics dictated that MTBE be chosen as the oxygenate. There was also 
concern with the impact ethanol could have on the air quality of New 
Hampshire, particularly the potential of increased smog.
  So the State chose MTBE. Of course, at that time no one was aware of 
the looming nightmare as a result of that choice. What we put in the 
gasoline to clean up the air has now contaminated our water.
  How does that happen? Because the tanks underground that hold the 
gasoline leak, or after you fill up your tank with gasoline and you 
take the nozzle out, a drop or two of the gasoline may hit the 
pavement, and then it washes away into our ground water.
  I remind all who are listening to me now, think about that when you 
put

[[Page S1696]]

that nozzle back: Don't let any of that gasoline drip, not even a drop, 
because it goes so quickly into the water supply.
  MTBE is a clean, cheap gasoline additive that boosts octane. It is a 
very effective product. But it migrates through the ground and into the 
water table and the aquifer very quickly and diffuses quickly. At even 
low levels of contamination, MTBE renders water unusable because of its 
foul odor and taste.
  Particularly hard hit by the MTBE contamination are the communities 
in the southern tier of New Hampshire, such as Salem, Derry, and 
Raymond. I have come to the Senate Chamber on several occasions to 
speak specifically about these families and small businesses that have 
been impacted by the MTBE contamination, continuing to reiterate the 
desperate need that the Senate take action. Time after time, in 
committee, month after month, I have almost begged the Senate to take 
action on this matter because it isn't fair that people, in the 
interests of making a profit, selling one product, should do it at the 
expense of those whose health is being impacted by contaminated water.
  I spoke to the Miller family--Christina and Greg, and their son 
Nathan--who live in Derry, NH. This young family has been struggling 
for over 3 years with MTBE contamination in their well--not being able 
to drink the water, not being able to shower. I have spent time at the 
Four Corners Store and surrounding homes in the town of Richmond. 
Gasoline in those tanks spread from that location into the aquifers of 
the surrounding homes. This plume has contaminated a number of private 
wells near that store. I visited some of those families who have those 
wells. We went down in the basements and saw these large tanks with 
filters. When a prospective buyer comes to look at the house, what are 
they going to think? The first question is: What is this?
  The Goulas and Frampton families were kind enough to invite me into 
their homes and show me this massive treatment system that had been 
installed by the State. The answer is, yes, we are getting the filters, 
we are getting the help, the remediation we need, but that does not 
take care of the problem.
  We do not want more homes contaminated. Once we remove the MTBE, then 
it is not going to get anymore into their wells. Once it is cleaned up, 
they will be able to use their water again.
  We take for granted, in this country, the fact we can turn that 
faucet on and get a clean drink of water or take a shower and not have 
to smell the water. These are cumbersome systems that have to be set 
up, and costly to operate, not to mention the concerns and fears they 
face on a daily basis.

  There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of stories similar to these New 
Hampshire examples of nightmares that are the result of MTBE 
contamination.
  We made a mistake. The Government made a mistake. They put MTBE in 
gasoline to clean up the air, not knowing the harm they were doing. We 
did not do enough research and science, and we made a terrible mistake. 
We have to correct it. We have to do it now.
  To help understand the magnitude of the problem in New Hampshire 
alone, it is worth noting just a couple of statistics.
  The State Department of Environmental Services in New Hampshire 
estimates that up to 40,000 private wells in New Hampshire have some 
MTBE contamination.
  In the year 2000, over 16 percent of the public water supplies had 
detected levels of MTBE. Almost 20 percent of that public water with 
MTBE contamination is at levels above the State drinking water 
standard.
  The State has had to buy bottled water. I mentioned the installation 
of the expensive treatment equipment with contaminated wells.
  Currently, New Hampshire has two dedicated State funds and a 
federally funded program that are used to address MTBE problems.
  During discussions with State officials, I learned that the money is 
running low and will soon run out if new sources of funding are not 
found. This is a crisis. We have to deal with it.
  New Hampshire is not alone. Many other States have had to address 
problems from MTBE contamination. I know the distinguished Senator from 
California, Mrs. Feinstein, and I have talked about this a number of 
times.
  This is a bipartisan issue. It is not a partisan issue. This is a 
national problem. It has to be addressed at the national level because 
to not do so would force communities to say, we are going to ban MTBE, 
and they would be in violation of the Clean Air Act.
  So this legislation I have written is an effective solution. I am 
pleased that the energy package includes the text of that legislation. 
Specifically, it bans MTBE, provides money for the cleanup of MTBE, 
eliminates the oxygen mandate in the RFG program, and maintains the 
current level of air quality protection. There is no backsliding.
  In addition, the legislation requires the EPA to conduct an expedited 
review of State petitions to suspend the oxygen mandate in the RFG 
program. If the EPA fails to complete the review of a State petition 
within 30 days, the petition will automatically be granted. This 
provision could allow New Hampshire to begin to eliminate MTBE from the 
fuel system even before the oxygen mandate is lifted.
  I have promised to help New Hampshire in any way possible to stop the 
use of MTBE and I promise those families the same thing. We owe it to 
them. The Senators who are not from New Hampshire owe it to them, as I 
would help those in other States who have similar problems. And there 
are those in other States who have similar problems.
  Finally, the language includes $2 million for the research of 
techniques to clean up bedrock contamination and to establish a 
clearinghouse for sharing the information. This is a huge increase 
beyond the pilot study currently funded.
  The greatest difficulty, according to Dr. Nancy Kinner, a scientist 
from the University of New Hampshire, is tracking and cleaning up MTBE 
in fractured bedrock. This research will help to address that problem. 
It has not been an easy deal to reach, but a lot of people 
participated. They came in with the right approach, understanding the 
desperate need those families have.
  Again, I thank the majority leader, and all of the Senators involved. 
I particularly thank Chris Hessler and Melinda Cross from my staff for 
their help, and Dave Conover, of course, for his assistance in helping 
me to work through this.
  Madam President, I see there are no other Senators in the Chamber. I 
ask unanimous consent to speak for an additional 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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