Lois Capps: “2 months ago, the House narrowly voted down my amendment to the energy bill to hold MTBE manufacturers accountable for…”

“2 months ago, the House narrowly voted down my amendment to the energy bill to hold MTBE manufacturers accountable for the groundwater contamination their product has produced. Many Members voted ``no'' because of some impending deal to address the issue once and for all. Now reports of the deal have leaked out. They are not pretty, and they will not address the MTBE contamination our constituents face. This deal would provide full liability protection to the MTBE producers and establish an $8 billion trust fund to address the contamination crisis. One big problem: the cleanup of MTBE contamination will cost between $25 billion and $33 billion. It could be as high as $85 billion, dwarfing the deal's cleanup fund. Another problem: at least half of this fund comes from taxpayers. Mr. Speaker, why should taxpayers pay to clean up MTBE contamination? Manufacturers caused this problem, and they should clean it up. It is a deal written by industry for the industry. No surprise that water districts, cities, and counties across the country do not support this deal. They are the people who have to deal with the contamination. I urge my colleagues to oppose the liability waiver of MTBE and any deal like this. ____________________”