PRINTER'S NO. 713
No. 35 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY CONTI, WAGNER, GREENLEAF, TOMLINSON, COSTA, TARTAGLIONE, LOGAN, STOUT, BOSCOLA, KUKOVICH, MOWERY, MUSTO, LAVALLE AND STACK, MARCH 19, 2001
REFERRED TO INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, MARCH 19, 2001
A RESOLUTION 1 Requesting that the Department of Environmental Protection 2 immediately submit a formal request to the Environmental 3 Protection Agency to exempt Pennsylvania from the liquid 4 fuels oxygen content requirement provided under section 5 211(k) of the Clean Air Act; and further requesting that the 6 department immediately develop, publish and implement a 7 response plan and/or regulations pertaining to methyl 8 tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) pollution incidents and prepare 9 and begin public presentations of an information program 10 regarding MTBE pollution of ground and surface waters. 11 WHEREAS, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 12 declares in part that the people have a right to clean air, pure 13 water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historical 14 and esthetic values of the environment; and 15 WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency in 16 a 1987 memorandum, released in early 2000 by United States 17 Representative Bob Franks, cited the contamination of water 18 supplies by MTBE in four unidentified states; and 19 WHEREAS, The 1987 memorandum warned that MTBE's "tendency to 20 separate from gasoline mixture into groundwater could lead to 21 widespread drinking water contamination"; and
1 WHEREAS, Rutgers University researchers on February 25, 2000, 2 announced their finding that MTBE clearly caused headaches, eye 3 irritation and fatigue in some people; and 4 WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 5 101-549, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq.) designate areas in 6 Pennsylvania requiring the use of gasoline that has a 2% oxygen 7 content by weight; and 8 WHEREAS, Refiners, in order to meet this requirement, blend 9 MTBE into gasoline marketed in specific areas of this 10 Commonwealth; therefore be it 11 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 12 request that the Department of Environmental Protection 13 immediately submit a formal request to the United States 14 Environmental Protection Agency to exempt Pennsylvania from the 15 liquid fuels oxygen content requirement provided under section 16 211(k) of the Clean Air Act (Public Law 101-549, 42 U.S.C. § 17 7401 et seq.); and be it further 18 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 19 request that the Department of Environmental Protection 20 immediately prepare, adopt and publish a formal response plan 21 and/or regulations addressing MTBE pollution incidents; and be 22 it further 23 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 24 request that the Department of Environmental Protection 25 immediately prepare a public information program about MTBE, the 26 extent and location of pollution occurrences involving it, its 27 known and suspected effects on humans and the department's 28 protocol for processing, resolving and remediating such 29 occurrences. B5L82MRD/20010S0035R0713 - 2 -