Clearing the Air: Using Scientific Information to Regulate Reformulated Fuels

Abstract

The gasoline oxygenate MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) was widely adopted across the United States in the 1990s as a key component of federally mandated oxygenated and reformulated fuels. The regulations implementing statutory mandates for oxygenated fuels were promulgated without a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental or health consequences of using MTBE or other oxygenates in such large quantities. Policymakers only belatedly realized the environmental ramifications of increased levels of MTBE in gasoline, especially groundwater contamination resulting from leaking fuel tanks. The policy process that led to MTBE's predominance was flawed, since no systematic attempt was made a priori to evaluate multimedia implications of MTBE's widespread use. The history of MTBE in the United States illustrates several typical, but problematic, features of environmental policymaking. It reveals how the scale of chemical usage directly impacts actual and perceived environmental effects. It highlights how instit...