Restarting the Energy Bill

The stalling of the Republican-backed energy bill by a Democrat-led Senate filibuster was only a temporary reprieve. Now Senate majority leader Bill Frist vows to bring the bill up for "top priority" reconsideration when Congress reconvenes in January. For maximum speed he'd like the Senate to adopt the conference report intact and make any changes in a separate bill. The bill's sponsor, Pete Domenici, is trying to round up enough votes during the recess to overcome the filibuster, but the bill is so tightly knit that pulling one thread could unravel the whole bundle. Democrats say they'll use the opening to amend the bill so it addresses their concerns.

Both sides agree that what tipped the balance against this energy company piñata was the provision giving liability protection to Texas oil companies--pals of House majority leader Tom DeLay--responsible for contaminating the water supply with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. DeLay has blustered that he won't go along with any tampering with the amnesty. If he gets his way, the MTBE cleanup could cost more than $140 billion--about the same as the savings and loan bailout.

Ignoring the warnings of scientists in and out of industry, oil companies started adding MTBE to gasoline in the 1980s. Foul-tasting and a suspected carcinogen, MTBE started leaking from underground storage tanks and into the nation's drinking water the day they started adding it to gasoline. Today, the EPA says it is finally satisfied with proof that MTBE causes cancer in animals; the industry, predictably, disagrees. But none dare argue that MTBE tastes other than horrible, or that it has not contaminated at least 1,500 public water supplies in all fifty American states.

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