I do not care about the politics of it. MTBE was supposed to help air quality by lowering auto tailpipe emissions. When I sat in on a dog-and-pony show on this about 11 years ago (ca 1994 - my how time flies), "we" were admitting that yes gas mileage would go down, but that would be more than compensated for by the reduced emissions. I was most dubious of that so-called fact. Our demonstration (pilot) projects that were conducted in the Phoenix area did not support that, but damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

Now "we" are moving to a different additive because (1) our air quality did NOT get better because MTBE did not do what it was claimed to be able to do, and (2) MTBE is a possible carcinigen, is not biodegradable, is soluble in water and has contaminated many drinking water supplies.

So its removal from use is way past due. But are we going to another additive that works better? Of course not. Alcohol is somewhat better but does not come close to complete combustion that is needed for emission controls. There is only one product that I know of that causes as complete of combustion as possible, prevents carbon buildup in engines, increases engine efficiency, etc. It is called RxP and costs about $6 for a 2.5oz bottle because of its patents. All other additives have at least one downside which is usually decreased MPG.

If your vehicle fails an emission test, you can easily pass it by using RxP in about 2 tanks-ful of gasoline.

>Hey Mark,
>
>What do you think is EPA's difficulty with MTBE? NAFTA is supposed to prevent Canadian business from gaining any unfair business advantage over American refineries. Eliminating MTBE reduces cost and would give Canadian refineries an ‘unfair’ price advantage. Could this be part of the complicity?
>
>Steven-
>
>>That is why I removed my "employer" from my UT tag line several years ago. I am not the only "independent" thinker around here either. There are many things I do not agree about regarding our Agency (e.g., the fiasco with MTBE in our gasoline, for one). However, I will stand up for our Agency and this Region in particular when warranted.