Political Quotes

“today I am introducing three bills to stop the contamination of California's drinking water by the gasoline additive MTBE. First, I am introducing a bill to allow California to apply its own clean or reformulated gasoline rules as long as emissions reductions are equivalent or greater. California's rules are stricter than the federal rules and thus meet the air quality requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. This bill is the companion to H.R. 11 introduced by Representative Bilbray on January 6, 1998. MTBE or methyl tertiary butyl either is added to gasoline by some refiners in response to federal requirements that areas with the most serious air pollution problems use what is called ``reformulated gasoline,'' a type of cleaner-burning gasoline. The federal law requires that this gasoline contain 2 percent by weight oxygenate. MTBE has been the oxygenate of choice by some refiners. The major source of MTBE in groundwater appears to be leaking underground storage tanks. In surface water, it is recreational gasoline-powered boating and personal watercraft, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. The second bill requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make petroleum releases into drinking water the highest priority in the federal underground storage tank cleanup program.”