Hilda L. Solis: “I also rise to support the Capps amendment to eliminate MTBE, the safe harbor liability. The provision, as many of my…”

“I also rise to support the Capps amendment to eliminate MTBE, the safe harbor liability. The provision, as many of my colleagues know, is an unfunded mandate on our communities and water providers. In fact, I will submit for the Record a list of 10 of those major organizations in opposition to the MTBE liability waiver. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, and the National Association of Towns and Townships are all opposed to shielding these folks. In addition to that, I would like to tell my colleagues that right now as it stands, we are not paying for sufficient cleanup as it is of underground storage tanks where we know MTBE is leaking. We are doing a foul job on behalf of the American public. Approximately 136,000 leaks are not being addressed right now, and EPA anticipates that over the next decade anywhere from 6,000 to 12,000 new leaks will occur each year. Who is going to get caught with the tab to clean that up? Guess who? Our local townships, our local municipalities, our States, and the public. Despite the need to clean up funds through EPA, we know that this is a wrong decision. We need to work this out. We need to make sure that we support the Capps amendment and that we do everything we can to educate the public of the harmful effects of MTBE, because in the State of California, we are plagued with having to clean up this water. We have higher standards there.…”