Earth Matters - Gas additive controversy fuels burning national dispute

March 24, 2000
Web posted at: 3:50 PM EST (2050 GMT)

By Environmental Correspondent Natalie Pawelski

(CNN) -- The gasoline additive Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) gets credit for helping clear the air in cities like Los Angeles and San Diego. And it gets blamed for contaminating backyard wells in Maine and the municipal water system in Santa Monica, California.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants Congress to ban MTBE.

"Americans deserve both clean air and clean water and never one at the expense of the other," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner.

"It is imperative that we eliminate or significantly reduce the fuel additive MTBE from gasoline and boost the use of safe alternatives like ethanol in order to protect us water supplies and to protect our air quality gains," Browner said.

Under the 1990 Clean Water Act, Congress required areas with severe air pollution to use MTBE or other fuel additives that boost gasoline's oxygen content.

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But if MTBE spills, the additive can spread quickly underground through the water table. Besides being foul smelling and tasting, the additive is a suspected carcinogen.

The most common MTBE alternative is ethanol, made from corn. One reason the Clinton administration wants Congress to encourage the production of renewable fuels, including ethanol, is economic.

"Farm income will rise because of the increased demand for corn," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. "Rural incomes will rise as farm income increases and new jobs will be created by new ethanol plants."

But what about the environmental effects? MTBE makers concede that ethanol is not solution, but argue the additive is getting a bad rap.

"This is politically motivated and not based on the science," said Terry Wigglesworth of the Oxygenated Fuels Association. "The facts are that MTBE has cleaned up the air. The facts are that there is not enough ethanol available to replace MTBE."

State lawmakers from New York to Alaska have moved to ban MTBE. And on Capitol Hill, an Iowa congressman has introduced legislation to ban the additive and replace it with ethanol.

Critics charge that changing additives may fuel another hot political debate, by raising prices at the pump.

MTBE could become a powerful issue in the presidential race. Banning it could hurt the Democratic administration, and Vice-President Al Gore's chances in Texas and Oklahoma, where MTBE is made.

GOP candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, is expected to prevail anyway in those states. But the issue could give Gore a boost in ethanol-producing Corn Belt states like Iowa.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Homepage
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