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Leak to fuel additive ban?; Substance blamed for contaminating Dover wells
By Tom Eldred, Delaware State News
DOVER - Confirmation of private wells in south Dover being contaminated with MTBE has again raised the question of whether the controversial gasoline additive should be banned in Delaware.
The Delaware State News reported Wednesday that at least 21 private wells southeast of U.S. 13 in Dover are polluted with MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) because of a gasoline leak at a nearby service station.
Meanwhile, a second station in the same neighborhood has been identified as the possible source of another leak.
Officials from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control fear both emissions could be forming individual 'plumes'' of pollution flowing underground toward Moores Lake.
According to the Delaware Division of Public Health, there are about 141,000 private well owners in Delaware, or 18 percent of residents.
MTBE is a chemical that is added to gasoline to increase octane and help reduce harmful emissions from vehicle exhausts. Use began in the 1970s to replace lead in gasoline and increased in the 1990s as a method to meet oxygenate mandates in the federal Clean Air Act.
Because MTBE dissolves quickly in water and takes longer to break down than other chemicals, it can easily invade wells and other sources of drinking water.
When concentrations reach higher-than-accepted levels, MTBE can cause water to have a bitter taste like turpentine. Tests have shown that extremely high levels cause cancer in rodents.
Rep. Richard C. Cathcart, R-Middletown, has been trying for years to prohibit the use of MTBE in Delaware because of repeated gasoline spills and leaks from fuel storage tanks.
He's been the prime sponsor of House Bill 249, which seeks to ban MTBE from all gasoline sold or distributed in Delaware.
The measure passed the state House of Representatives in 2002 and 2004 but failed to make it to the full Senate for a vote.
'We definitely plan to re-introduce this legislation during the next session,'' Rep. Cathcart said Wednesday.
'Three or four years ago Artesian Water Co. had a problem when one of their wells became contaminated from a Superfund site. I started looking into it. MTBE moves very quickly. It's a very volatile chemical and possible carcinogen. It's also very expensive and difficult to remove from the aquifer.''
Rep. Cathcart said he was surprised HB 249 bogged down in the Senate.
'I have no clue why it stalled,'' he said. 'I don't know of any lobbying interest that's opposing it. We're certainly not the first state to ban it.''
At least 18 states have already passed legislation prohibiting the use of MTBE." Read More...
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