New Jersey water suppliers will share in settlement

More than a dozen water suppliers in New Jersey likely will share at least $67 million as part of a national settlement with oil companies over drinking water contamination caused by the fuel additive MTBE. The chemical, methyl tertiary butyl ether, was added to the nation's gasoline supply beginning in 1979.

It was used to raise octane levels so vehicle engines would burn cleaner and emit less pollution. But MTBE, which is highly soluble and a possible carcinogen, began to show up in groundwater not long after, mainly due to leaking underground storage tanks at gasoline stations. The first documented case was in Rockaway, N.J., in 1980. MTBE is now the most commonly found volatile organic chemical in the state's groundwater, said Barker Hamill, who runs the Department of Environmental Protection's safe drinking water program. He said perhaps 10 to 15 percent of the state's wells have detectable levels, but ...