Copyright Adams/Hunter Publishing, Inc. Mar 2005Congress should shield oil companies that make the fuel additive MTBE from water pollution lawsuits because the product was approved by the government to produce cleaner gasoline, the head of the American Petroleum Institute said in a Reuters' report in February.
The controversial protection from product liability lawsuits is a key reason why a broad energy bill died last year in the U.S. Senate.
House Republican leaders such as Tom Delay of Texas insist that any comprehensive energy bill must include the legal protection for oil companies such as ExxonMobil Corp., 
Valero Energy Corp. and Lyondell Chemical Co.
Moderate Republicans and Democrats oppose shielding companies from lawsuits over the suspected carcinogen, according to Reuters.
New Mexico Republican Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, said he would not include the MTBE legal protection in the energy bill he is drafting.
Hundreds of communities across the United States are suing because MTBE has leaked from underground storage tanks and polluted drinking water supplies. The cleanup of all MTBE leaks has been estimated to cost as much as $29 billion.
The American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group for large oil companies, said the industry should not be sued for making a defective product because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at one time required the additive mixed into gasoline to reduce air pollution, according to Reuters.
"This is, above all, an issue of fairness," API President Red Cavaney said, testifying before a House subcommittee on U.S. energy policy.
"Any industry that acts as mandated by the government to meet a societal need - in this case, cleaner air and improved health should not later be victimized for doing what the government required it to do," he told lawmakers.
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