Dear Governor Davis:

Since the first reports of MTBE contamination of groundwater in Santa Monica four years ago, the Methanol Institute has endeavored to support California’s efforts to solve the problem of leaking underground storage tanks. By signing S.B. 989 into law, you have added significant new tools to the state’s fight against groundwater contamination from leaking USTs.

The challenges posed by leaking USTs in California is great. According to the EPA’s Joint Industry UST Survey, fully 40% of the 57,000 active underground storage tanks in California failed to comply with state and federal law requiring upgrading or replacement by December 1998. The State Water Resources Control Board’s most recent leaking UST report (Third Quarter 1999), found nearly 16,000 open cases of leaking underground storage tanks, representing 28% of the tank population.

Following an exhaustive review of the state’s UST enforcement program, the Sierra Club of California, the Planning and Conservation League of California and MI issued a report titled, “Is California’s Drinking Water Falling Between the Bureaucratic Cracks?” It included a series of case studies showing the past failure of state, regional and local regulatory agencies to respond to growing contamination concerns. Our report concluded, “If MTBE is leaking into water supplies, other more dangerous gasoline contaminants like benzene, xylene, toluene, and ethyl benzene may not be far behind. Time is running out.”

Following the release of this report, State Senator Byron Sher and Assemblyman Ted Lempert asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to direct the Auditor General to, “conduct an audit of state water quality and drinking water agencies to determine if these agencies are adequately protecting public health and the environment.” State Auditor Kurt R. Sjoberg released his report in December 1998, concluding that, “The State’s process for regulating the safety of its citizens’ water, and especially for ensuring that gasoline does not contaminate drinking-water sources, has multiple shortcomings.”

Many of the Auditor General’s recommendations were embodied in S.B. 989, and received strong support from the water resources community, environmental organizations and the methanol industry. Among the bill’s provisions strengthening UST programs, we believe the following offer the greatest potential for future protection of the state’s 16,000 drinking water sources:

Conducting research to quantify the probability of releases from upgraded USTs.

Adopting of regulations to require under-dispenser or other spill containment systems.

Directing a complete review of the state’s enforcement authority.

Requiring local agencies to inspect USTs once a year, rather than every three years.

Developing guidelines for the investigation and remediation of MTBE contamination sites.

Extending the life of the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Trust Fund, and making additional funding available for corrective actions at each site.

Extending the life of the Drinking Water Treatment and Research Fund.

Creating a grant program to help small businesses comply with UST regulations.

Requiring single-hulled tanks to implement leak detection or monitoring.

These provisions of S.B. 989 and others supported by your Administration will do much to fill the cracks in the state’s UST enforcement program. In May 1995, CARB Executive Officer James Boyd stated in a memo to the Department of Health Services that MTBE may be, “an early indicator of petrochemical contamination.” With nearly 16,000 open cases of leaking underground storage tanks, clearly MTBE is but one part of a much broader threat to the state’s water resources.

Much recent media attention regarding S.B. 989 has focused on the narrow issue of an arbitrary phase-out date for MTBE. We believe a far more constructive legislative accomplishment is the strengthened UST effort your Administration has now initiated. With continued strong support from industry, environmental groups and the water resource community, we believe implementation of S.B. 989's tank provisions can become one of the hallmarks of this Administration. To that end, the Methanol Institute wants to assure you of our full cooperation and assistance in developing effective and workable plans to realize the goal of providing the citizens of California with both clean air and clean water.

Sincerely,

John Lynn
President & CEO