Editorial: Don’t give oil firms a break on pollution

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2002 | 9:01 a.m.

MTBE, an additive in gasoline, is supposed to reduce air pollution. But that same additive, if it leaks out of underground gasoline station storage tanks, can pollute ground water -- as the California cities of Santa Monica and South Lake Tahoe discovered too late. Lawsuits subsequently were filed against Exxon-Mobil, Shell and other oil companies that used MTBE, and the companies agreed to pay $69 million for the pollution caused to the underground wells at South Lake Tahoe and agreed to clean up the damage caused at Santa Monica. Those were the right steps to take, but now the oil companies want to reduce big payouts in the future if other cities experience similar contamination. The oil companies have persuaded key Republicans in the House to push legislation that would reduce their firms' liability from lawsuits involving MTBE pollution.

The lawmakers want federal law changed so that MTBE is considered just as safe as another clean-air additive, ethanol. But as environmentalists have correctly pointed out, unlike MTBE, ethanol isn't known to pollute ground water. The environmentalists also note that oil companies had their choice of ethanol or MTBE, but decided to use MTBE. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Gannett News Service he opposes the House legislation: "Why should the taxpayers pay for this (cleanup)?" Besides, this is an issue of legal responsibility that is best left to juries and judges -- not to legislators who are doing the bidding of one of Washington's most powerful interest groups.