Testimony before the House Economic Matters Committee

Maryland House of Delegates

February 16, 2005

HB 960 and HB 205– Banning MTBE

Position: FAVORABLE

The Maryland Public Interest Research Group, MaryPIRG, is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer and environmental advocacy organization with over 8,000 members across the state and a student chapter at the University of Maryland, College Park. For thirty years, MaryPIRG has worked to protect the environment, public health, and the rights of Maryland consumers.

MaryPIRG strongly supports any bill that phases out and eventually bans MTBE. MaryPIRG also supports seeking an oxygenate waiver from the U.S. EPA in order to do so. MaryPIRG therefore strongly supports HB 960 and HB 205 - both of which would eliminate the use of MTBE by 2010 and 2008, respectively.

MTBE is largely unnecessary as an oxygenate and was added to the Clean Air Act of 1990 at the behest of the chemical industry, who also knew that the substance was likely to contaminate groundwater. Its pollution reductions are moderate and officials in California, one of twenty states that have banned MTBE, has found that gasoline can be refined to burn just as cleanly without additives.

With that in mind, we recommend that the Maryland Department of the Environment seek a waiver from the US EPA for the oxygenate requirement. Since the Clean Air Act prevents backsliding the state will have to take other measures to curb or eliminate an increase in air pollution we might see. One option includes passage of the Clean Cars Act (HB 564), which would significantly improve air quality.

Other concerns being voiced regarding a ban on MTBE concern a possible increase in the price of gasoline. Connecticut recently banned MTBE and has seen no noticeable increase in the price of gasoline.

Another concern is the state moving forward on this without the cooperation of its neighbors. Other states have moved forward with a ban on MTBE and those bans have not disrupted to flow of gasoline. Worries that eliminating the oxygenate will make things difficult for the gasoline industry are simply not true and both bills take into account the trace amounts that may remain in the pipelines even after a ban here in Maryland.

We encourage the ban on MTBE because the chemical constitutes a great threat to our clean drinking water supply. In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that up to 20 percent of the nation’s drinking water supplies may be contaminated with MTBE. The chemical has been found in 1,512 public drinking water systems in 28 states. Here in Maryland, 2,412 MTBE leaks from underground storage tanks still need to be cleaned up. Here in Maryland 119 public drinking water systems serving 195,000 people have reported MTBE in the drinking water.

MTBE is a possible carcinogen. Long term exposure to the chemical causes cancer in laboratory animals. In the absence of additional data, the EPA has concluded, “MTBE poses a potential for human carcinogenicity at high doses.” California also considers MTBE a suspected human carcinogen. MTBE has caused nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and eye, nose and throat irritation, and renders water undrinkable even at very low concentrations because of its harsh, turpentine-like taste and odor.

MaryPIRG also strongly supports HB 660, requiring the owner of a gasoline underground storage tank to notify specified persons, develop a specified corrective action plan, and perform specified testing and equipment upgrades.

We also support HB 374, which requires notification of owners living within a ½ mile radius of the spill, and HB 355, which requires those owners to pass information of the spill onto users of that water supply as well.