Here's story #2 from yesterday. Also environmental-related. I was a regular eco-terrorist yesterday.

I really don't recommend writing two stories in one day. Blegh.

Especially when Dewey subjects me to a certain friend of his for the second night in a row, after a long day of work...but that's another story.

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Water contamination on the rise, group says

4/7/05
By DICKIE CRONKITE
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON -- An environmental nonprofit organization reported Monday that MTBE chemical contamination in groundwater is on the rise in California, even as Congress considers granting legal immunity to the oil companies that produced the pollutant.

According to a study released by the Environmental Working Group, the number of detected levels of methyl tertiary butyl ether in water systems is rising sharply.

"We first published these data in 2003, and at that time we had around 1,500 systems with MTBE in the water," said Richard Wiles, the group's senior vice president. "Since then, in those 29 states, we found 373 more systems reporting contamination."

Mr. Wiles said that since 2003, 19 California water systems serving between 50 and 150,000 people have reported MTBE in their drinking water.

MTBE has been found in the city of Santa Barbara's water supply. "There have been a few isolated incidents where we have been able to detect it," said Steve Mack, the city's acting water resources manager. "It's not something that has consistently shown up."

Mr. Mack said motorboats on Lake Cachuma were the likely source.

"We don't have a contaminated groundwater supply," he added.

MTBE, a gasoline additive, has an overwhelming ammonialike odor that renders water unfit for drinking. The EPA says it does not have adequate data to estimate any health risks of MTBE at low exposure, but it does consider the chemical a "potential human carcinogen" at high doses.

According to Renee Sharp at the Environmental Working Group's West Coast office, California is one of 16 states that has banned MTBE. The state banned the chemical on Jan. 1, 2004.

A bill currently before Congress contains a "liability waiver" prohibiting lawsuits against oil companies that added MTBE to gasoline before the ban even though documents reveal they knew the chemical would leak from storage tanks. The measure would force communities to pay for cleanup efforts instead.

The current bill would also void all MTBE lawsuits and settlements after September 2003.

A similar liability shield for oil companies was proposed in 2003 in Congress before being excised from the bill. The Environmental Working Group's study examines which members of Congress voted for that bill, whether MTBE contamination has been found in their districts since then, and whether lawsuits regarding cleanup have been filed.

Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, who represents the 24th District including inland Santa Barbara County, voted for the bill in 2003. According to the study, California Water Service Co., a Ventura County supplier in Mr. Gallegly's district, has since filed suit regarding MTBE-contaminated drinking water.

"In any large and comprehensive bill, there are going to be provisions that Congressman Gallegly would prefer were not in the bill," said a statement released by his Washington office. "But the need for a comprehensive energy bill is clear to anyone who has fueled their car recently."

At a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, pledged to introduce an amendment removing the liability shield.

"This report clearly shows that MTBE contamination of groundwater has become a huge and growing problem across this country. Thousands of communities face billions of dollars in cleanup," Mrs. Capps said.

"Court cases have demonstrated the manufacturers knew MTBE would get into groundwater and render it undrinkable, yet they failed to make this public."

David Harpole, spokesman for Lyondell Chemical Co., saw the liability waiver differently. He said the measure would protect MTBE manufacturers from "frivolous and abusive lawsuits," and that these manufacturers should be distinguished from the companies actually handling the gasoline storage.

Mrs. Capps is expected to propose her amendment sometime next week.

Dickie Cronkite writes from Washington, D.C., for Medill News Service. E-mail him at ******@ newspress.com.