Something Stinks: Congressmen Richard Pombo, Charlie Bass Side with Tom DeLay on MTBE Pollution

MTBE pollutes our drinking water

MTBE is a toxic gasoline additive that the Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a possible carcinogen.[1]  It leaks from underground storage tanks and pollutes groundwater, and its noxious odor and taste make water undrinkable.  MTBE pollution has been particularly severe in California and New Hampshire : the chemical has been detected in 144 water systems serving more than 32 million Californians and in 280 water systems serving more than 400,000 New Hampshire citizens.[2] 

The oil industry knew MTBE was harmful

The oil industry argues that it shouldn’t be liable for MTBE cleanup because federal air pollution laws required its use.  But documents uncovered through litigation tell a different story: according to the Environmental Working Group, the oil industry lobbied Congress to require MTBE—even though they knew as early as the 1980s that it rendered water undrinkable.[3]

Energy bill forces communities, not polluters to pay

In California , 19 communities have filed lawsuits to force the oil industry to pay for the cost of MTBE cleanup.  The state of New Hampshire and cities of Dover and Portsmouth have also filed suit.  The energy bill recently passed by the House of Representatives contains a provision that would shield manufacturers of MTBE from products liability lawsuits, instead forcing communities to pick up the tab for cleaning up contaminated water.  The provision is retroactive to September, 2003 and would cut off the California and New Hampshire lawsuits.

The polluting influence of Tom DeLay

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) is the biggest proponent of the liability waiver, which would benefit industries in his home district of Houston.  He is so tied to the provision that a Republican staffer recently told the Houston Chronicle, “It’s not the energy bill anymore.  It’s the MTBE-Tom DeLay bill.”[4] 

During debate over the energy bill, Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) offered a motion to strike the MTBE liability waiver from the bill and the vote narrowly lost, 219-213.[5]  Reps. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Charles Bass (R-NH) opposed the Capps motion.