Bush to Push For Energy Bill, Won't Enter MTBE Fray
Date: 03-Feb-05
Country: USA
Author: Caren Bohan
But the White House, in its drive for the energy legislation, does not plan to wade into a dispute over the gasoline additive MTBE that threatens to bog down the bill in Congress, said spokesman Trent Duffy.
"He'll talk about how sound energy policy is the cornerstone both of our economic and national security policies," Duffy said. Bush will also promote energy legislation as a way to lessen US dependence on foreign sources of energy.
Energy legislation to encourage more domestic oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear and alternative sources of energy is one of Bush's major domestic priorities. He also favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling, a plan opposed by moderate Republicans, Democrats and environmental groups as a giveaway to the oil industry.
But the White House is remaining silent on the contentious issue of whether oil companies that manufactured the fuel additive MTBE should be protected from liability lawsuits for water supplies contaminated by the chemical. MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is a suspected carcinogen and has been found in the drinking water supplies of many US cities.
"The priority for the president is to have the energy bill passed," Duffy said in explaining why Bush would prefer to let lawmakers resolve the dispute over MTBE on their own.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, again insisted this week that oil companies must be protected from such lawsuits because the Environment Protection Agency once required the fuel additive.
But Sen. Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican who heads the Senate energy panel, said the MTBE protection will not be in the energy bill he is writing because it cannot pass the Senate.
MTBE was widely used in the 1990s to meet federal rules for cleaner-burning gasoline. MTBE producers include Lyondell Chemical Co , Valero Energy Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp.
The clean-up of all MTBE in the United States has been estimated to cost as much as $29 billion. The additive has been banned in some states.
The controversial MTBE issue has stymied Bush's efforts for the past two years to secure passage of a sweeping energy bill.