| For Immediate Release | For more information contact: |
| February 11, 2000 | Doug Champeau (651-296- 4305) |
ALBERT LEA Rep. Dan Dorman (R-Albert Lea) today announced that he is authoring legislation that would ban the use of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline sold in Minnesota. States such as California have required the use of the MTBE to oxygenate gasoline to reduce carbon monoxide and ozone levels caused by auto emissions.
"But what California and other states have found is that MTBE has polluted drinking water when it has leaked from underground storage tanks," Dorman said. "MTBE is a carcinogen and it poses a cancer risk for humans. It doesn't belong in our water and it shouldn't be in our gasoline."
Dorman said that as far as he understands, MTBE is not used in gasoline sold in Minnesota. But he said he wanted to launch a pre-emptive strike against the possible future use of MTBE in the state.
"A lot of refiners prefer MTBE over other oxygenates such as ethanol because its readily available as part of the refining process and it blends easily," Dorman said. "But as other states wean themselves from MTBE because of its threat to drinking water, I'm concerned that refiners will shift MTBE to states that don't have prohibitions."
Dorman said last year, an Environmental Protection Agency blue ribbon panel recommended that refiners cut back on MTBE use because of water contamination. MTBE is water-soluble and can readily move into a water table. The panel estimated that 5 to 10 percent of drinking water supplies in states using such reformulated gasoline contain detectable amounts of MTBE.
Dorman admitted that he is a big supporter of ethanol, the other oxygenate.
"Not only does ethanol use help farmers here in Freeborn County and elsewhere throughout the state, it has helped clean the air in the Twin Cities without polluting our drinking water."
In November, the nine-year-old mandatory auto emissions testing program in the Twin Cities came to an end. Motorists had to have their cars tested for pollution emissions each time they renewed their license tabs. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ended the program because the Twin Cities area finally met federal clean air levels.
"And that's because of ethanol," Dorman said.
Dorman is also authoring legislation that would fully fund the state's ethanol producers. As it stands now, the maximum annual payment to an ethanol plant is $3 million. But funding was capped at $2.4 million for newer ethanol plants like the Exol plant in Albert Lea. Dorman's bill would raise the cap for new plants to $3 million as it is elsewhere.
"I would love it if states that relied on MTBE decided to use ethanol in the future," Dorman said. "That would be great news for corn growers in Minnesota."
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