Political Quotes

“I have been working for nearly two years on legislation to deal with the numerous problems associated with the gasoline additive MTBE. The use of MTBE as a fuel additive grew tremendously starting with the Clean Air Act's reformulated gasoline program that was implemented in 1995. Today, MTBE makes up approximately 3 percent of the total national fuel market. Unfortunately, when leaked or spilled into the environment, MTBE can cause serious drinking water quality problems. MTBE moves quickly through land and water without breaking down. Small amounts of MTBE can render water supplies undrinkable. This contamination is persistent throughout the nation, and New Hampshire is certainly a State that has been hard hit. According to State officials, up to 40,000 private wells may be contaminated with MTBE. Up to 8,000 of those wells may have MTBE contamination over the State health standards. Areas especially hard hit include both rural and urban areas. In the past few years I have visited, as well as received many calls and letters from, a number of the families whose wells are contaminated and they are extremely frustrated.”