Text: SCR00101 Text: SCR00103 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY IVERSON
1 3 A Concurrent Resolution urging the President of
1 4 the United States, the United States Environmental
1 5 Protection Agency, and the United States Congress,
1 6 immediately take all actions necessary in order
1 7 to immediately prohibit the use of methyl tertiary
1 8 butyl ether as an additive in gasoline.
1 9 WHEREAS, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a
1 10 derivative of natural gas, has been used as an octane
1 11 booster in gasoline, following the phase-out of leaded
1 12 gasoline; and
1 13 WHEREAS, in the past decade, the petroleum industry
1 14 has increased the amount of MTBE added to reformulated
1 15 gasoline in order to comply with federally mandated
1 16 efforts to improve air quality in the nation's most
1 17 polluted areas, and to reduce emissions of benzene and
1 18 other ozone-forming aromatic compounds associated with
1 19 gasoline; and
1 20 WHEREAS, a majority of reformulated gasoline sold
1 21 throughout the nation contains MTBE, including in the
1 22 Northeast where almost all reformulated gasoline
1 23 contains at least 11 percent of MTBE; and
1 24 WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection
1 25 Agency lists MTBE as a possible human carcinogen; and
1 26 WHEREAS, methyl tertiary butyl ether, leaking from
1 27 underground storage tanks and discharged as unburned
1 28 fuel from two-stroke motorboats and jet skies,
1 29 migrates readily to water supplies; and
1 30 WHEREAS, a study by the University of California
2 1 found that use of the compound poses a significant
2 2 risk of contaminating water supplies, including
2 3 groundwater sources; and
2 4 WHEREAS, methyl tertiary butyl ether has unique
2 5 chemical properties that make it highly soluble and
2 6 allow it to migrate through drinking water supplies,
2 7 giving the water a turpentine odor in minute
2 8 quantities; and
2 9 WHEREAS, methyl tertiary butyl ether does not
2 10 degrade as readily as other gasoline additives, which
2 11 creates significant clean-up and remediation costs at
2 12 contaminated sites; and
2 13 WHEREAS, it has been reported that New York State
2 14 environmental officials compiled a list of 1,500
2 15 places where soil or water had been contaminated with
2 16 MTBE; and
2 17 WHEREAS, in Maine, a statewide survey found that 16
2 18 percent of drinking wells had detectable amounts of
2 19 MTBE; and
2 20 WHEREAS, in New Jersey, 65 public drinking water
2 21 supplies have been contaminated with MTBE; and
2 22 WHEREAS, in California, MTBE has been ordered to be
2 23 phased out of the state's fuel supply by 2002; and
2 24 WHEREAS, in Iowa, on or after February 1, 2000, it
2 25 is illegal to sell motor vehicle fuel that contains
2 26 more than 2 percent of MTBE by volume; and
2 27 WHEREAS, ethanol-blended gasoline is an
2 28 environmentally safe oxygenate enhancer that may be
2 29 used in reformulated gasoline in order to comply with
2 30 the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act; NOW
3 1 THEREFORE,
3 2 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF
3 3 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the United States
3 4 President, the Administrator of the United States
3 5 Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States
3 6 Congress, immediately act to prohibit the use of MTBE
3 7 as an additive in gasoline sold in this nation; and
3 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
3 9 Resolution be sent by the Secretary of the Senate to
3 10 the President of the United States; the Administrator
3 11 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
3 12 the President of the Senate of the United States; the
3 13 Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
3 14 States; and members of Iowa's congressional
3 15 delegation.
3 16 LSB 5221XS 78
3 17 da/as/5
Text: SCR00101 Text: SCR00103 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2000 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Wed Jan 19 03:35:00 CST 2000
URL: /DOCS/GA/78GA/Legislation/SCR/00100/SCR00102/000110.html
jhf