Good afternoon folks:
The following appeared on the Reuters tape today... it's about time.
Regards,
Charles
'74 Midget
'68 Sprite
cdsorkin@ix.netcom.com
Bloomfield, NJ
Thursday March 2, 1:28 pm Eastern Time
U.S. should eliminate gasoline additive MTBE - EPA
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency said on
Thursday that gasoline additive MTBE poses a significant risk to the
nation's drinking water supply and should be reduced or eliminated as
quickly as possible.
EPA Assistant Administator Robert Perciasepe told the House commerce
subcommittee on health and environment that EPA believes a comprehensive
approach to fixing the program must include either reducing or eliminating
the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive in an expeditious and practicable
time.
Congress, not the EPA, has the legal authority to change the reformulated
gasoline program, which requires refiners to use oxygenates such as MTBE, or
methyl tertiary butyl ether, and ethanol in order to lower pollution levels,
he said.
``It is clear we need to change the reformulated gasoline program,''
Perciasepe said.
He said EPA is very concerned that MTBE poses a significant risk to the
nation's drinking water supply and the agency believes there are
alternatives, such as ethanol, for replacing MTBE, but adequate lead time is
necessary.
Reformulated gasoline accounts for about 30 percent of the gasoline used in
the United States. MTBE is used as an oxygenate in about 85 percent of
reformulated gasoline.
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