[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 169 (Thursday, November 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2353-E2354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 6, ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2003

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in history Congress has 
voted to protect known polluters from legal liability. H.R. 6, the 
``Energy Policy Act of 2003'', not only implements a restructured 
energy system that would harm consumers and provide unaffordable 
subsidies to energy companies, but Title XV of the bill, the Ethanol 
and Motor Fuels title, would particularly immunize the producers of a 
toxic contaminant from liability for its effects on those people who 
have been harmed by it. These provisions were unilaterally inserted 
into the conference report without the benefit of a single committee 
hearing or markup.
  MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) has been classified by the EPA as 
a possible human carcinogen and can render water undrinkable in 
concentrations as low as two parts per billion. Due to the synthetic 
chemical properties of MTBE, when it leaks into water, it moves and 
dissolves through water rapidly, resists natural degradation, and 
causes water to take on the taste and smell of turpentine. According to 
the General Accounting Office, MTBE, a chemical which has been shown to 
cause liver damage, kidney damage, and even cancer in humans, has now 
been detected in the groundwater and drinking water in every state in 
the nation.
  The Ethanol and Motor Fuels title in H.R. 6 contains an outright and 
retroactive liability waiver for MTBE producers that knowingly polluted 
the tap water of millions of Americans. Specifically, the title would:
  Protect responsible parties from liability--The title would give MTBE 
producers a special liability waiver from strict product liability 
suits. Because these strict product liability suits have been the only 
effective measure of holding MTBE producers accountable for polluting 
public water supplies, denying water districts and city and county 
governments the right to bring defective product lawsuits against the 
MTBE polluters would effectively end their accountability.
  Shift cleanup costs to taxpayers--The MTBE provisions in the bill 
would shift the burden of paying for the cleanup of the polluted water 
to the water consumers. An estimated $29 billion in clean up costs will 
fall squarely on states, cities, and their citizens. MTBE manufacturers 
and gasoline companies will

[[Page E2354]]

not have to pay for the contamination of the water supplies that they 
caused, nor will they have to pay to acquire new water sources for 
hundreds of thousands of customers.
  Nullify pending litigation against MTBE producers, leaving hundreds 
of thousands of people without recourse--There are currently 130 
communities and water suppliers across the nation that have litigation 
pending to reclaim damages for MTBE pollution of public drinking water 
sources. Because this bill is retroactive, taking effect for lawsuits 
pending on September 5, 2003, all of these lawsuits would be nullified.
  The MTBE provisions contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2003 
benefit the wrongdoers and have a number of harmful consequences for 
the victims of drinking water contamination. Any policy that has the 
effect of leaving hundreds of thousands of victims without any recourse 
against their wrongdoers is bad policy.

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