THEY ARE SENATORS BAYH, ABRAHAM, KOHL, GRASSLEY, DURBIN AND
           BROWNBACK. I APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
           TALKING TO EACH OF MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THIS VERY IMPORTANT
           PIECE OF LEGISLATION WE ARE INTRODUCING TODAY. MR. PRESIDENT,
           THE MTBE ELIMINATION ACT WOULD BAN ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY THE
           CHEMICAL COMPOUND WHICH IS TERMED MTBE FOR SHORT. IT'S LONGER

           CHEMICAL NAME IS METH METH.
           
           IT IS ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY USED CHEMICALS ANYWHERE IN THE
           UNITED STATES. IN FACT IT IS ADD TODAY APPROXIMATELY 30% OF OUR
           NATION'S GASOLINE SUPPLIES. IT'S USE IN THIS COUNTRY DATES BACK
           TO AT LEAST 199. IT WAS ORIGINALLY ADD TODAY GASOLINE IN ORDER
           TO BOOST THE OCTANE THAT GASOLINE HAD. FOR MANY YEARS OIL

           COMPANIES HAD ADDED LEAD TO THE FUEL IN ORDER TO IMPROVE ITS
           PERFORMANCE AND TO BOOST OCTANE. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BANNED
           LEAD IN THE 1970'S, AND ULTIMATELY IT WAS REPLACEED IN MANY
           CASES BY MTBE. LATER ON, MR. PRESIDENT, IN 1990, CONGRESS
           AMENDED THE CLEAN AIR ACT AND PRESIDENT BUSH AT THE TIME SIGNED
           THOSE AMENDMENTS. THOSE AMENDMENTS REQUIRED ALL THE SMOG-FILLED
           LARGE CITIES IN THIS COUNTRY TO HAVE AN ADDITIVE IN THEIR

           GASOLINE THAT WOULD MAKE THE GASOLINE APPROXIMATELY 2.% OXYGEN
           BY WEIGHT. THIS IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE OBJECTION
           GENTLEMEN NATURE REQUIREMENT IN OUR -- OXYGENATE REQUIREMENT IN
           OUR CLEAN AIR ACT. THE PURPOSE F THAT REQUIREMENT WAS TO MAKE
           THE OIL COMPANIES PRODUCE AND OUR CARS USE A CLEANER BURNING
           FUEL. THE IDEA WAS TO CLEAN UP THE SMOG IN SOME OF OUR NATION'S

           LARGEST AND MOST CONGESTED CITIES. THAT PROGRAM HAS WORKED VERY
           WELL OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS IN CLEANING UP THE SMOG ALL ACROSS
           THE COUNTRY. CITIES LIKE NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO.
           MY HOME STATE OF ILLINOIS, OF COURSE, HAS A LARGE METROPOLITAN
           AREA IN CHICAGO. THE REFORMULATING FUEL REQUIREMENTS THAT WERE
           IMPLEMENTED BY THE 1990 AMENDMENTS TO THE CLEAN AIR ACT HAVE
           HELPED GREATLY IN REDUCING THE EMISSIONS FROM OUR AUTOMOBILES,

           IN PROVIDING CLEANER BURNING FUELS AT LEAST AS FAR AS OUR AIR
           QUALITY IS CONCERNED. NOW TODAY, MR. PRESIDENT, AS I SAID
           EARLIER, ABOUT 30% OF THE GASOLINE THAT IS USED IN THIS COUNTRY
           IS REFORMULATED AND HAS AN ADDITIVE IN IT. MOST OF WHICH IS
           MTBE. IN THE PARTS OF THIS COUNTRY THAT ARE REQUIRED TO USE
           THAT REFORMULATING FUEL, OVER 0% OF THEM ARE USING MTBE AS

           THEIR OBJECTION GENTLEMEN NATURE. THE OTHER AREAS -- OXYGENATE,
           OTHERS ARE USING ETHANOL TO MEET REQUIREMENTS. IN FACT CHICAGO
           AND MILWAUKEE USE ETHANOL AS OPPOSED TO MTBE. IT TURNS OUT NOW
           THAT WE ARE HAVING MOUNTING EVIDENCE THAT MTBE, WHILE IT WORKS
           WELL IN CLEANING UP THE SMOG, HAS HAD A PROBLEM WE HAD NOT
           ANTICIPATED, AND ONE WHICH VERY REGRETTABLY HAD NOT REALLY BEEN
           FULLY INVESTIGATED BEFORE WE STARTED LEGISLATION DOWN THE PATH

           THAT HE ENCOURAGED A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE USAGE OF MTBE.
           MTBE HAS IN RECENT YEARS BEEN DETECTED IN THE NATION'S DRINKING
           WATER ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE WEST
           COAST. IN FACT, RIGHT NOW, MR. PRESIDENT, THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL
           SURVEY IS PROVIDING AN ONGOING TEST OR PERFORMING AN ONGOING
           TEST OF DRINKING WATER IN GROUND SWAURT SUPPLIES ALL ACROSS THE
           COUNTRY. THEY HAVEN'T YET COMPLETED THAT SURVEY, AND IF YOU
           WILL LOOK AT THIS CHART, MR. PRESIDENT, THE STATES THAT ARE IN

           WHITE, THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ANALYSIS HAS NOT YET BEEN
           PERFORMED. BUT IN THE STATES THAT ARE IN RED, THOSE ARE THE
           STATES WHERE THEY HAVE FOUND MTBE IN THE GROUND WATER. IN MY
           HOME STATE OF ILLINOIS, MR. PRESIDENT, AND INCIDENTALLY I
           BELIEVE IT IS SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 23 STATES WHERE
           THEY HAVE FOUNTED MTBE IN THE GROUND WATER. IN MY HOME E. HOME

           STATE, AND WE DON'T USE MTBE THAT MUCH, WE MOSTLY USE ETHANOL,
           BUT NONETHELESS, JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE OUR ILLINOIS
           ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS BEEN LOOKING LATELY, THEY
           HAVE BEEN FINEDING MTBE IN THE GROUND WATER. AND SO FAR THEY
           HAVE FOUND IT IN 26 DIFFERENT CITIES ALL ACROSS THE STATE. AND
           NOT ALL OF THE CITIES HAVE TESTED THE GROUND WATER ALL AROUND
           THE STATE. THREE OF THESE CITIES, MR. PRESIDENT, HAVE HAD TO
           SWITCH THEIR SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER AND GO TO OTHER WELLS

           BECAUSE THERE WAS SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF MTBE IN THAT WATER TO
           MAKE IT UNDRINKABLE. RECENTLY, ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO,
           CBS NEWS IN THEIR PROGRAM "60 MINUTES," DID A REPORT ON HOW
           MTBE HAS BEEN TURNING UP WITH GREATER AND GREATER FREQUENCY IN
           OUR NATION'S DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES. AND THAT REPORT WHICH
           SEEMED TO ME TO BE VERY WELL RESEARCHED NOTED THAT THIS

           CHEMICAL, MTBE, HAS SOME VERY INTERESTING PROPERTIES. UNLIKE
           MOST OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF GASOLINE WHICH WHEN IT LEAKS
           OUT ACCIDENTALLY OUT OF AN UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK, OR OUT OF
           A PIPE THAT'S CARRYING FUEL, THERE ARE LEAKS NOW AND THEN, WE
           TRY TO PREVENT THEM, BUT THEY DO OCCUR, MOST OF THE COME POPE
           NENLTS OF GASOLINE GET ABSORBED SOMEHOW IN THE SOIL AND DON'T
           MAKE IT DOWN TO THE GROUND WATER. MTBE IS A PESKY SUBSTANCE,

           HOWEVER, THAT RESISTS A ATTACHING TO THE MINE CROBES IN THE
           GROUND AND RAPIDLY SEEKS OUT THE GROUND WATER. IT RESISTS
           DEGRADING AS IT FINDS ITS WAY TO THE WATER. AND THEN ONCE IT
           GETS INTO THE WATER, IT RAPIDLY SPREADS ALL AROUND THE WATER.
           AND IT IS -- IT HAS PROPERTIES THAT WHEN IT IS IN DRINKING

           WATER, IN VERY MINUTE QUANTITIES, BETWEEN 20 TO 40 PARTS PER
           BILLION, THAT'S ENOUGH TO MAKE THE DRINKING WATER UNDRINKABLE.
           AND I SAY UNDRINKABLE BECAE IT MAKES THE WATER SMELL AND TASTE
           LIKE TURPENTINE. THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES SHOWN THAT A SINGLE
           CUP OF MTBE RENDERS 5 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER UNDRINKABLE. NOW

           I SAY IS MAKES THE WATER UNDRINKABLE. THE FACT OF THE MATTER
           IS, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HEALTH EFFECTS IT HAS ON HUMANS
           WHO INGEST THE WATER. VERY FEW STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE AND WHAT
           HAPPENS TO HUMANS WHO CONSUME MTBE. THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES OF
           LABORATORY RATS THAT SUGGEST IT IS A POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN. AND

           THE E.P.A. HAS RECOGNIZED MTBE AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE OF CANCER.
           BUT WE NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH.
           WE SIMPLY DON'T KNOW ALL THAT MUCH ABOUT THIS CHEMICAL. BUT WE
           DO KNOW THAT WHETHER OR NOT IN THOSE TINY CONCENTRATIONS IT
           COULD IN FACT CAUSE CANCER OR OTHER PROBLEMS IN HUMAN HEALTH,
           WE DO KNOW IT MAKES THE WATER UNDRINKABLE AND THAT MOST PEOPLE,
           WHEN THEY SMELL THAT TURPENTINE-LIKE SMELL, OR TASTE THAT, IT

           INSPIRES INSTANT RE-VULS AND THEY DON'T WANT TO DRINK THE
           WATER. SO IT IS ALMOST A MOOT POINT AS TO WHETHER IT HAS ILL
           HEALTH EFFECTS, BECAUSE IT MAKES THE WATER UNDRINKABLE. MOST
           HUMANS WILL RECOIL AT THE THOUGHT OF DRINKING THAT TYPE OF
           WATER. THE 60 MINUTES SEGMENT THAT I REFERRED TO EARLIER, THEY
           WENT OUT TO A TOWN IN CALIFORNIA WHERE LITERALLY MOST OF THE
           TOWN HAD LEFT BECAUSE THEIR WATER HAD THIS MTBE IN IT. MANY OF
           THE BUSINESSES HAD CHOSED UP. MANY OF THE PEOPLE HAD LEFT. AND

           FOR THOSE WHO WERE RYE MAJOR IN THAT COMMUNITY, THE STATE OF
           CALIFORNIA WAS TRUCKING IN FRESH WATER FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO
           DRINK. IT WAS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW
           CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY I BELIEVE ONE IN THE CAROLINAS AS AND
           ALSO ANOTHER ONE, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, WHERE THEY HAD
           SUED OIL COMPANIES AND WON JUDGMENTS TO CLEAN UP THE GROUND
           WATER IN WHICH THEY WERE DETECTING MTBE. MR. PRESIDENT, IN
           ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS ALARMING TREND IN WHICH WE ARE

           INCREASINGLY FINDING THIS PESKY, HORRIBLE, CHEMICAL IN OUR
           DRINKING WATER ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH INCREASING
           FREQUENCY, I WITH MY COLLEAGUES AM INTRODUCING THE MTBE
           ELIMINATION ACT. AND THIS ACT WOULD DO FOUR THINGS. FIRST, IT
           WOULD PHASE MTBE OUT. GRADUALLY OVER THREE YEARS. THE WAY THE
           BILL ACCOMPLISHES THAT IS IT AMENDS THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES ACT TO

           ADD METH I WILL TERTIARY BU TILL EITHERER TO THE LIST OF
           PROSCRIBED -- MTBE TO THE LIST OF PROVE DESCRIBED TO TOXIC
           SUBSTANCES IN THIS COUNTRY. I WOULD ELIMINATE THE MTBE OVER
           THREE YEARS BECAUSE IT WILL BE VERY HARD TO SIMPLY SWITCH OVER
           OUR NATION'S GASOLINE SUPPLY LIKE THAT, OVERNIGHT, AND TO BE
           REALISTIC IT WILL TAKE A PERIOD OF TIME. I WOULD LEAVE IT TO
           THE DISCRETION OF THE E.P.A. TO ESTABLISH A TIME ABLE TIME -- A

           TIMETABLE AS TO HOW MUCH OF WILL WILL BE GONE WITHIN THREE
           YEARS. SECONDLY, MR. PRESIDENT, THE BILL WOULD REQUIRE THAT
           GASOLINE THAT IS DISPENSED AT THE PUMP CONTAINING MTBE BE
           LABORED SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHEN FILLING UP THEIR CAR WITH
           GASOLINE THAT CONTAINS THIS ADDITIVE THAT THEY KNOW IT IS IN
           THERE. IN MANY CASES, OF COURSE, PEOPLE AREN'T EVEN AWARE ABOUT
           THIS CHEMICAL. THEY NEVER HEARD OF IT. WE WERE VERY SURPRISEED

           IN ILLINOIS WHERE WE DIDN'T THINK WE HAD MUCH MTBE, TO FIND IT
           IN OUR GROUNDWATER. THIRD, THE BILL AUTHORIZES GRANTS FOR
           RESEARCH ON MTBE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION. WE
           NEED TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE HEALTH EFFECT OF THIS CHEMICAL.
           WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT IT DOES. RIGHT NOW WE DON'T
           FULLY UNDERSTAND THE HEALTH RISKS. THE ONLY STUPID  THAT HAVE
           BEEN DONE THAT I AM AWARE OF WERE REALLY OF LABORATORY MICE,

           AND THERE HAS BEEN VERY FEW STUDIES, IF ANY, ON THE EFFECTS TO
           HUMANS WHO INGEST OR INHALE THIS CHEMICAL. WE ALSO NEED
           RESEARCH ON HOW YOU REMEDIATE THE CHEMICAL, HOW YOU CLEAN IT
           UP, BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO ALL OF IT'S OTHER PROPERTIES, IT
           TIRNS OUT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ELIMINATE. OUR NORMAL
           PROCESSIONS FOR ELIMINATINHAZARDOUS CHEMICALS FROM GROUNDWATER,
           IN MANY CASES ACCORDING TO THE LITERATURE, DON'T STEAM TO WORK

           ON MTBE. OUR E.P.A. NEEDS TO RESEARCH THIS ISSUE AND HELP THE
           REST OF THE COUNTRY TO HAVE A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE OUT THERE SO
           WHEN THEY FIND MTBE CONTAMINATION, THEY CAN KNOW HOW TO CLEAN
           IT UP OR REMEDIATE IT. FINALLY, THE BILL CONTAINS A SECTION
           WHICH IS JUST SENSE OF THE SENATE ONLY THAT THE E.P.A., OUR
           NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, SHOULD PROVIDE TEXT
           NICK AL ASSISTANCE, INFORMATION AND MATCHING FUNDS TO OUR LOCAL

           COMMUNITIES WHO ARE TESTING THE UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLIES, AND
           ALSO WHO ARE TRYING TO REMEDIATE AND CLEANUP MTBE THAT HAS BEEN
           TEXT DETECTED IN THOSE WATER SUPPLIES. AND FINALLY, MR.
           PRESIDENT, AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT, SOME OF YOU MAY BE ASKING, WHAT
           WILL WE DO ABOUT THAT PORTION OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT THAT
           REQUIRES THAT OUR FUEL IN THIS COUNTRY, AT LEAST IN THE
           SMOG-FILLED LARGE CITIES, HAVE AN OXYGENATE IN IT SO WE REDUCE

           SMOG EMISSIONS. THERE IS AN ANSWER. WE DO HAVE THAT
           ALTERNATIVE, A RENEWABLE SOURCE PRODUCED FROM CORN OR OTHER
           PLANT PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN STARCH, IT'S CALLED ETHANOL. AND IN
           MY JUDGMENT, MR. PRESIDENT, ETHANOL WOULD ALLOW US TO MEET THE
           KOIRMT OF THE CLEEN AIR ACT ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND IT
           WOULD NOT MAKE US MAKE THAT TERRIBLE CHOICE BETWEEN CLEAN AIR
           AND
{END: 2000/03/09 TIME: 16-30 , Thu.  106TH SENATE, SECOND SESSION}