Senate Voices Opposition to MTBE, Support for Ethanol


California Senator
Barabara Boxer

During debate on the agriculture appropriations bill, the Senate agreed to a resolution introduced  by California Senator Barbara Boxer calling on the EPA to phase out the use of MTBE nationwide and replace it with ethanol. "The Senate's action was an important milestone in our effort to phase out MTBE," Senator Boxer said. "This policy will help us maintain clean air and protect our water supplies while enhancing America's energy security and supporting the farm economy."

The resolution follows the recommendation of a Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates that MTBE use should be substantially reduced. The resolution was co-sponsored by Illinois Senators Peter Fitzgerald and Richard Durbin, Iowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone and Idaho Senator Michael Crapo.

Sense of the Senate Resolution 
 It is the sense of the Senate that the United States should:
(1) phase out MTBE in order to address the threats MTBE poses to public health and the environment;
(2) promote renewable ethanol to replace MTBE as a means of enhancing energy security and supporting the farm economy;
(3) provide assistance to state and local governments to treat drinking water supplies contaminated with MTBE;
(4) provide assistance to state and local governments to protect lakes and reservoirs from MTBE contamination.

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