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Lawmakers have jettisoned a plan to give liability protection against environmental lawsuits for makers of gasoline additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, which helps reduce air pollution but has been reported as a "likely" human carcinogen and blamed for contaminating groundwater supplies across the United States.
The MTBE safe-harbor provision was dropped from the energy bill that House and Senate conferees hope will be passed by Congress and on President Bush's desk by August 1st - the beginning of congressional recess. The loss of the immunity proposal is a major set-back for the oil industry. The proposal would have created an $11.4 billion cleanup fund financed by the industry and federal and state governments.
Critics of MTBE liability protection fear the burden that clean up costs would impose on communities. Furthermore, the MTBE issue is viewed by many on Capitol Hill as the major energy legislation roadblock, a view that stems from earlier failed attempts to get an energy bill through Congress. On the other hand, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, plans to offer an alternative proposal to the bill as a last ditch attempt to seek a viable compromise. Stay tuned for future updates.
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