Senator Says Banning MTBE Is Bad Environmental And Energy Policy

Autoparts Report, Nov 15, 2000

Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) is the latest Member of Congress to raise objection to the passage of the Reformulated Fuels Act of 2000 (S. 2962), which seeks to ban the use of the cleaner- burning fuel additive MTBE. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), Breaux states that "S. 2962 contains serious issues that have not been fully resolved and is not ready for final consideration at this time."

Specifically, Breaux objected to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works' decision to refer the bill to the full Senate without considering whether MTBE poses any actual risk to public health or the environment. Breaux called this a "radical departure from the way Congress has sought to regulate chemical substances."

Additionally, Breaux called S. 2962 "bad environmental policy" because MTBE has been wildly successful in reducing vehicular emissions and, as written, the bill does not sufficiently protect against air quality backsliding in the absence of MTBE. Breaux also pointed out that the EPA has stated that ethanol, the likely replacement for MTBE, could actually increase the emission of harmful air toxics.

Finally Breaux called the bill "bad energy policy." If MTBE is removed from the nation's gasoline pool, Breaux notes, refiners will be forced to use more crude oil and this can have a disastrous impact on home heating oil supplies and prices.

Thomas Adams, Executive Director of the Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) stated, "OFA is committed to working with Congress in the next session to craft sensible legislation that addresses the concerns of all parties in the reformulated gasoline debate. I am confident that by working with Congress, we can arrive at legislation that is based on sound science and that makes economic sense for this country." Adams called Sen. Breaux's letter a "thorough and accurate critique of the S. 2962."

Breaux's letter to the Senate leadership comes in the wake of a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert (R-IL) from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster that also condemns passage of S. 2962.

In their letter, Archer and Shuster base their opposition to S. 2962 on the disastrous consequences of the ethanol monopoly on reformulated gasoline that would be created by the bill.