BILL REQ. #:  S-3539.2 

Read first time 01/14/2004.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO MIKE LEAVITT, SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, AND TO SPENCER ABRAHAM, SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is a volatile oxygen-containing organic compound that has been added to gasoline to promote more complete combustion, reduce air pollution, and increase octane ratings; and
     WHEREAS, MTBE is difficult to biodegrade, readily dissolves in water, and moves through soil and ground water rapidly, and renders water undrinkable due to its foul taste and odor of paint thinner; and
     WHEREAS, In March of 2000, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that the use of MTBE in our nation's fuel supply has created a significant and unacceptable risk to drinking water and ground water resources; and
     WHEREAS, EPA's Office of Water has concluded that MTBE is a potential human carcinogen at high doses and continues to examine the health risks at lower levels; and
     WHEREAS, The Washington state department of ecology conducted a study of existing underground storage clean-up sites that revealed nearly fifty percent had some contamination relating to the use of MTBE, with twenty-five percent of the sites exceeding the EPA's national drinking water advisory standard; and
     WHEREAS, MTBE has caused extensive contamination of both ground water and surface water across the country, as shown by a nationwide study by the United States Geological Survey that found MTBE in eighty-six percent of wells sampled in industrial areas, thirty-one percent sampled in commercial areas, twenty-three percent in residential areas, and twenty-three percent in areas of mixed urban land use, parks, and recreational areas; and
     WHEREAS, In 2001, the Washington State Legislature prohibited the intentional addition of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) to gasoline, motor fuel, or clean fuel for sale or use after December 31, 2003; and
     WHEREAS, Drinking water systems and their customers potentially face billions of dollars in costs to clean up contaminated supplies and secure new sources of water to replace shutdown wells; and
     WHEREAS, State and federal funding for such cleanups is already limited at best and common law claims against manufacturers, seeking either injunctive or monetary remedies, provide important tools to clean up MTBE contamination; and
     WHEREAS, The MTBE industry knew of the additive's environmental dangers long before it was put in use to meet the oxygenate requirement, as shown in documents uncovered in a lawsuit by the South Tahoe Public Utility District against oil companies which demonstrated the MTBE industry's knowledge since the early 1980s that the product spread rapidly in ground water and was difficult to clean up; and
     WHEREAS, Congress has recently considered provisions that would shield the producers of MTBE from any legal claims that the chemical is "defective in design or manufacture"; and
     WHEREAS, These provisions would establish an extremely troubling precedent in which Congress legislatively determines that harmful chemical compounds are not defective and renders irrelevant any legitimate, substantial scientific and medical evidence regarding the health hazards of a dangerous product; and
     WHEREAS, Such congressional action would amount to a staggering rollback of the "polluter pays" laws and an unwarranted preemption of state statutory and common law standards relating to manufacturer's product liability; and
     WHEREAS, Neither the Clean Air Act, nor EPA's reformulated gasoline regulations, have ever required the use of MTBE in any way;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President, Congress, the Secretary of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy oppose the inclusion of a "safe harbor" provision in any legislation that essentially would grant manufacturers of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) immunity from claims that the fuel additive is "defective in design or manufacture" or any other action that would seriously undermine efforts to clean up ground water and surface water contaminated by MTBE.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Spencer Abraham, Secretary of the United States Department of Energy, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.