In article <bpcch9$2q14$1@pencil.math.missouri.edu>, Jane Sandringham says...

Energy Bill Protects MTBE Makers from Lawsuits, Provides Money &
Grants to MTBE Makers, and Shifts Cost of Clean-Up to Taxpayers
	 
http://www.forbes.com/work/newswire/2003/11/16/rtr1149653.html

US energy bill would protect MTBE makers from lawsuits, provide them
with financial assistance and grants, and shifts clean-up costs to
taxpayers
Reuters, 11.16.03, 1:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A Republican-written draft energy bill
released on Saturday would shield U.S. makers of the fuel additive
MTBE from product liability lawsuits beginning on Sept. 5, 2003, a
month earlier than industry lobbyists had expected.
MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is a suspected carcinogen that
has contaminated underground water supplies in many cities in
California and other states. It competes with corn-based ethanol,
which has wide support among Midwestern lawmakers and the Bush
administration.
The provision in the Republicans' draft bill would mainly protect
Lyondell Chemical Co. (nyse: LYO - news - people), Valero Energy Corp.
(nyse: LYO - news - people) and privately held Huntsman
Petrochemicals, the nation's biggest MTBE makers.
The MTBE provision is one of the most contentious in the legislation,
which will be debated at a Senate-House conference committee meeting
on Monday.
Senate Democrats oppose the liability shield and some have threatened
to filibuster the energy bill if it includes the language.
Republican bill writers specified that MTBE makers could not be held
liable in lawsuits filed after Sept. 5 if their product leaked from
underground storage tanks owned by others.
MTBE should not be considered a defective product "if it does not
violate a control or prohibition imposed by the administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency ... and the manufacturer is in
compliance with all requests for information," the draft bill said.
The bill also said, "Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
affect the liability of any person for environmental remediation
costs, drinking water contamination, negligence for spills or other
reasonably foreseeable events."
The U.S. Conference of Mayors criticized the liability protection,
saying it would force local communities to pay an estimated $29
billion in clean-up costs that should be borne by makers of the
oil-based chemical.
Lobbyists had expected the effective date to be in October. However,
Republican aides said the September date was chosen because it was the
beginning of the energy bill-writing process.
The draft bill also proposed:
* Phasing out the use of MTBE by Dec. 31, 2014;
* Providing an annual total of $250 million in financial assistance to
MTBE makers during the phaseout period, including grants to convert
production plants so they can make renewable fuels or iso-octane;
* Ordering a study by the National Academy of Sciences by 2014 to
review new scientific data about the use of MTBE in fuel and its
environmental impacts;
* Spending several hundred million dollars from the Leaking
Underground Storage Tank Trust to protect the environment from aging
tanks.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service