Tahoe governments seek local ban on fuel additive

Thursday, March 9, 2000 | 9:25 a.m.

The Lake Tahoe Region Preservation Authority is a coalition of representatives of the city of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and the South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District.

The group on Wednesday voted to ask to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors to pass an ordinance banning the sale of gasoline containing the fuel additive known as MTBE.

The substance has been added to gasoline supplies in recent years as a way to cut down on air pollution. But it has caused serious water pollution problems as it enters ground water supplies from leaking gasoline storage tanks.

Contamination has forced the utility district to shut down a third of its drinking water wells.

At the urging of California Gov. Gray Davis, most service stations in the Tahoe basin already sell gasoline without the additive.

The action by the local governments is a move to force others to follow suit.

El Dorado County supervisors could act on the measure later this month.

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