Posted by Bluewater Network on September 28, 1999
by Brooke Coleman
San Francisco, CA —IN WHAT SEEMED like a grand entrance into California politics, Gov. Gray Davis last March imposed a deadline of Dec. 31, 2002, to phase out the dangerous and controversial gasoline additive MTBE. He asked refiners to supply MTBE-free gasoline to service stations in Lake Tahoe "as soon as possible" to appease a region up in arms over losing nearly half of its drinking water to tainted wells.
Environmentalists, legislators, health and water officials breathed a
collective sigh of relief, while Chevron, Shell and other oil companies promised to distribute MTBE-free gasoline to the Lake Tahoe area by July, "if not sooner." But, as of the first week of September, 11 of 15 gas stations tested are still selling MTBE-laced fuel in Lake Tahoe.
Predictably, local Tahoe officials blasted the oil industry's "utter
disregard" for public health. But instead of joining the chorus, Gov. Davis last week gutted what was left of MTBE legislation by pressuring state Sen. Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto, into dropping the 2002 deadline from his MTBE bill.
"We're disappointed," said Dennis Cocking of the South Tahoe Public
Utility District. "It gives big oil companies a little more opportunity to
weasel out of something that should be pretty easy to do."
Californians are now left with only a governor's plea for oil companies
to stop using MTBE "at the earliest possible date" instead of a firm
date actually written into the law.
Legislators are left wondering why they spent six months trying to
implement the governor's executive order, which he asked them to do on the day he signed it, only to have him pull the plug on the last day of the session. Those fighting against the use of MTBE for years suddenly have little to show for it.
After all, executive orders come and go without a trace because they are not legally binding. Refiners are free to ignore the provisions of Davis' executive order without penalty. The oil industry is well aware that only the state Legislature can pass laws which would hold them accountable to the governor's request, which is why the they sent over a dozen lobbyists to Sacramento in recent weeks to make sure that MTBE bills did not pass. They succeeded.
What's dumbfounding is the governor's loss of backbone on the issue. He
lent no support for MTBE legislation, which would have realized the goals of his executive order, and expressed no urgency in phasing out a chemical that he concluded is "a significant threat to public health." According to the Water Resources Control Board, the number of contaminated sites is
continuing to increase as a result of continuing MTBE usage. The recent
discovery that sewage water discharged into the Bay from Redwood city has
MTBE levels over four times higher than the California public health
standard also indicates that the severity of the problem is increasing.
Unfortunately, as the costs to clean up the toxic mess climbs, Davis appears far more sympathetic to providing "flexibility" to the oil industry than to either taxpayer costs or public health.
Governor Davis left no doubt in anyone's minds this year that the
legislature's role is to support his vision. But when the Governor
flip-flops on his promise to protect California's environment, he
embarrasses the legislature and destroys his credibility with the public. And why is he is handing the keys back to the folks who caused this fiscal, environmental and public health disaster in the first place? It's a simple formula: The oil industry reminded the governor that if they are unable to meet his 2002 deadline, gas prices just may explode around the time he is seeking re-election.
Sadly, the governor is willing to jeopardize public health, the support
of the legislature, and the health of our drinking water to insure that the oil industry doesn't decide to cause him any future trouble at the pump.
Brooke Coleman is a spokesperson for the San Francisco-based Bluewater Network, a nonprofit environmental organization leading the fight against the use of MTBE.
For more information, contact:
Bluewater Network
Earth Island Institute
300 Broadway, Suite 28
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: (415) 788-3666
Fax: (415) 788-7324
E-mail: bluewater@earthisland.org
