I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4303
To prohibit the use of, and provide for remediation of water contaminated
by, methyl tertiary butyl ether.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 13, 2000
Mr. EWING (for himself, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. WELLER, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr.
MCINTOSH, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MANZULLO, and Mr. PHELPS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To prohibit the use of, and provide for remediation of water
contaminated by, methyl tertiary butyl ether.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘MTBE Elimination
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) a single cup of MTBE, equal to the quan-
tity found in 1 gallon of gasoline oxygenated with
MTBE, renders all of the water in a 5,000,000-gal-
lon well undrinkable;
(2) the physical properties of MTBE allow
MTBE to pass easily from gasoline to air to water,
or from gasoline directly to water, but MTBE does
not—
(A) readily attach to soil particles; or
(B) naturally degrade;
(3) the development of tumors and nervous sys-
tem disorders in mice and rats has been linked to
exposure to MTBE and tertiary butyl alcohol and
formaldehyde, which are 2 metabolic byproducts of
MTBE;
(4) reproductive and developmental studies of
MTBE indicate that exposure of a pregnant female
to MTBE through inhalation can—
(A) result in maternal toxicity; and
(B) have possible adverse effects on a de-
veloping fetus;
(5) the Health Effects Institute reported in
February 1996 that the studies of MTBE support
its classification as a neurotoxicant and suggest that
its primary effect is likely to be in the form of acute
impairment;
(6) people with higher levels of MTBE in the
bloodstream are significantly more likely to report
more headaches, eye irritation, nausea, dizziness,
burning of the nose and throat, coughing, disorienta-
tion, and vomiting as compared with those who have
lower levels of MTBE in the bloodstream;
(7) available information has shown that
MTBE significantly reduces the efficiency of tech-
nologies used to remediate water contaminated by
petroleum hydrocarbons;
(8) the costs of remediation of MTBE water
contamination throughout the United States could
run into the billions of dollars;
(9) although several studies are being con-
ducted to assess possible methods to remediate
drinking water contaminated by MTBE, there have
been no engineering solutions to make such remedi-
ation cost-efficient and practicable;
(10) the remediation of drinking water contami-
nated by MTBE, involving the stripping of millions
of gallons of contaminated ground water, can cost
millions of dollars per municipality;
(11) the average cost of a single industrial
cleanup involving MTBE contamination is approxi-
mately $150,000;
(12) the average cost of a single cleanup involv-
ing MTBE contamination that is conducted by a
small business or a homeowner is approximately
$37,000;
(13) the reformulated gasoline program under
section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7545(k)) has resulted in substantial reductions in
the emissions of a number of air pollutants from
motor vehicles, including volatile organic compounds,
carbon monoxide, and mobile-source toxic air pollut-
ants, including benzene;
(14) in assessing oxygenate alternatives, the
Blue Ribbon Panel of the Environmental Protection
Agency determined that ethanol, made from domes-
tic grain and potentially from recycled biomass, is an
effective fuel-blending component that—
(A) provides carbon monoxide emission
benefits and high octane; and
(B) appears to contribute to the reduction
of the use of aromatics, providing reductions in
emissions of toxic air pollutants and other air
quality benefits;
(15) the Department of Agriculture concluded
that ethanol production and distribution could be ex-
panded to meet the needs of the reformulated gaso-
line program in 4 years, with negligible price im-
pacts and no interruptions in supply; and
(16) because the reformulated gasoline program
is a source of clean air benefits, and ethanol is a via-
ble alternative that provides air quality and eco-
nomic benefits, research and development efforts
should be directed to assess infrastructure and meet
other challenges necessary to allow ethanol use to
expand sufficiently to meet the requirements of the
reformulated gasoline program as the use of MTBE
is phased out.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Administrator should provide technical as-
sistance, information, and matching funds to help local
communities—
(1) test drinking water supplies; and
(2) remediate drinking water contaminated with
methyl tertiary butyl ether.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(2) ELIGIBLE
GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘eligible
grantee’’ means any of the following:
(A) A Federal research agency.
(B) A national laboratory.
(C) A college.
(D) A university.
(E) A research foundation maintained by a
college or university.
(F) A private research organization with
an established and demonstrated capacity to
perform research or technology transfer.
(G) A State environmental research facil-
ity.
(3) MTBE.—The term ‘‘MTBE’’ means methyl
tertiary butyl ether.
SEC. 4. USE AND LABELING OF MTBE AS A FUEL ADDITIVE.
Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15
U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(f) USE OF METHYL TERTIARY BUTYL ETHER.—
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON USE.—Effective on the
date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of
this subsection, a person shall not use methyl ter-
tiary butyl ether as a fuel additive.
‘‘(2) LABELING OF FUEL DISPENSING SYSTEMS
FOR MTBE.—Any person selling oxygenated gasoline
containing methyl tertiary butyl ether at retail shall
be required under regulations promulgated by the
Administrator to label the fuel dispensing system
with a notice that—
‘‘(A) specifies that the gasoline contains
methyl tertiary butyl ether; and
‘‘(B) provides such other information con-
cerning methyl tertiary butyl ether as the Ad-
ministrator determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—As soon as practicable
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the
Administrator shall establish a schedule that pro-
vides for an annual phased reduction in the quantity
of methyl tertiary butyl ether that may be used as
a fuel additive during the 3-year period beginning on
the date of enactment of this subsection.’’.
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON MTBE GROUND WATER
CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall
establish a MTBE research grants program within
the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—The Administrator
may make a grant under this section to an eligible
grantee to pay the Federal share of the costs of re-
search on—
(A) the development of more cost-effective
and accurate MTBE ground water testing
methods;
(B) the development of more efficient and
cost-effective remediation procedures for water
sources contaminated with MTBE; or
(C) the potential effects of MTBE on
human health.
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In making grants under this
section, the Administrator shall—
(A) seek and accept proposals for grants;
(B) determine the relevance and merit of
proposals;
(C) award grants on the basis of merit,
quality, and relevance to advancing the pur-
poses for which a grant may be awarded under
subsection (a); and
(D) give priority to those proposals the ap-
plicants for which demonstrate the availability
of matching funds.
(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—A grant under this
section shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
(3) TERM.—A grant under this section shall
have a term that does not exceed 4 years.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004.
SEC. 6. REFORMULATED GASOLINE.
(a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress finds
that:
(1) Section 211(k) of the Clean Air Act re-
quires the use of reformulated gasoline in the na-
tion’s worst ozone nonattainment areas.
(2) In order to promote more complete fuel
combustion, the Clean Air Act requires reformulated
gasoline to contain a minimum of 2.0 percent oxy-
gen.
(3) The presence of oxygen in a fuel is bene-
ficial in reducing volatile organic compound, carbon
monoxide, toxic air pollutant emissions.
(4) The use of ethanol at the typical blending
rate of 10 percent by volume equates to a 3.5 per-
cent oxygen content.
(5) This increased oxygen content, while pro-
viding the intended benefits of reducing volatile or-
ganic compound and toxic air pollutant emissions,
results in additional carbon monoxide emission re-
ductions.
(6) The National Research Council found that
carbon monoxide in exhaust emissions from motor
vehicles contributes about 20 percent to the overall
ozone forming potential of motor-vehicle emissions.
(7) Reducing carbon monoxide emissions will
have a positive impact on ozone air quality.
(8) Blending ethanol into an unoxygenated re-
formulated gasoline base will increase the volatility
of the resulting blend.
(9) In order to account for this volatility in-
crease, gasoline producers must, at increased ex-
pense, reduce the volatility of the unoxygenated re-
formulated gasoline base.
(10) The benefits of reduced carbon monoxide
emissions on ozone air quality have not been fully
considered in the USEPA’s reformulated gasoline
compliance methodology, the complex model.
(11) Scientific analyses detailing the carbon
monoxide and ozone air quality benefits of reformu-
lated gasoline blends containing 3.5 percent oxygen
have concluded that a minimum of a 0.5 pounds per
square inch Reid vapor pressure allowance is a rea-
sonable gasoline volatility offset for determining the
proper impact of such gasoline,
(b) RVP ALLOWANCE.—In order to account for the
positive impact of reduced carbon monoxide emissions on
ozone air quality and because of the positive environ-
mental impact resulting from the use of oxygenates in gas-
oline, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency is directed to promulgate rules requiring a 0.5
pounds per square inch Reid vapor pressure allowance for
all reformulated gasoline containing 3.5 percent oxygen by
weight.
(c) OFFSET.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any additional volatile organic compound emissions
resulting from the use of such reformulated gasoline
should be deemed to be fully offset and thus not calculated
in determining compliance with any of the provisions in
section 182 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7511a), deal-
ing with Reasonable Further Progress plans or dem-
onstrations.
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