With the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1990, the federal EPA required oil companies to put oxygenates in gas to reduce air pollution in high-smog areas. The primary oxygenates available in the U.S. are MTBE, made from natural gas and methanol, and ethanol made from corn. Most oil companies chose MTBE becase it was and is cheaper to manufacture than ethanol.
But this chemical that was supposed to clean our air has been polluting our water — 10,000 groundwater sites in the state have been identified as having some kind of MTBE contamination.
So how did it get into our drinking water? Underground gasoline storage tanks that leak are to blame. When gas leaks, MTBE travels quickly through the water supply, faster and farther than other gas additives. Also, unlike other chemicals added to gas, MTBE dissolves easily in water and doesn’t cling to soil.
Governor Davis announced a statewide ban on MTBE in 1999. The ban was to take effect at the end of 2002. However, Davis announced on March 15, 2002 that he’ll delay the ban until 2004, claiming that the delay would allow a more “orderly transition” and help keep people from paying up to $3 a gallon for gas.
Both Davis and the California Environmental Protection Agency had requested that the Bush administration and the Federal EPA waive California’s requirement to put oxygenates in its gas. But in summer 2001, both the EPA and the Bush administration denied the request, leaving California with only one other alternative to add to its gas: ethanol.
Davis’ administration feels that ethanol will be costly and create supply shortages. Plus, oil refineries will have to convert their technology to add ethanol to gas, which is also costly and time consuming.
This week, “California Connected” takes a look at the complicated issues that MTBE has caused and what is being done to solve our MTBE crisis.