26:2C-8.22 Findings, declarations relative to MTBE.

1. The Legislature finds and declares that methyl tertiary butyl ether, more commonly referred to as MTBE, may threaten drinking water supplies in the State and nationwide due to the properties of MTBE that make it highly soluble and rapidly transported into groundwater; that, although MTBE has become the most commonly used additive to fulfill the State's requirements pursuant to the federal "Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990," 42 U.S.C.s.7403 et seq., it is not the only additive available to meet the federal requirements; that the Department of Environmental Protection began detecting trace amounts of MTBE in drinking water around the State in 1990 and, in 1996, the Department of Environmental Protection began requiring the testing of levels of MTBE in drinking water, even though it was not a federal requirement; and that, after serious study, in July 1999, the United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed that Congress authorize the reduction or elimination of the use of MTBE as a component of gasoline because it is found as a contaminant in drinking water supplies nationwide.

The Legislature therefore determines that in addition to the water testing currently conducted in the State and the investigation of remediation methods for existing contamination, it is of vital importance that contamination of drinking water from MTBE not occur in the State, and that the sale of gasoline containing MTBE must be prohibited in the State.

L.2005,c.192,s.1.