Safer drinking water

A legislative meeting last week on a toxic gasoline additive that has been showing up in drinking-water supplies began to sort out the problem from the conspiracy theories around it. Let’s hope the state keeps moving in that direction.

The presence of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in drinking water is serious. But not for the reasons that some politicians have charged. They have accused the King administration of a coverup. The truth seems worse than that. The Department of Environmental Protection did not make a big deal out of the detection of MTBE near a gas station in North Windham because it has hundreds of cases of this situation statewide. What’s one more?

MTBE replaced lead in gasoline in the late 1970s. More of it has been added recently to displace some of the volatile organic compound benzene in an attempt to reduce air pollution. The additive is highly water-soluable, so shows up in water supplies faster than the other poisons — including benzene and toluene — that make up gasoline. Finding it in various bodies of water suggests how poorly Maine protects its water supplies from gasoline spills and leaks.

The DEP tried several years ago to toughen regulations around well heads to keep gas out of drinking water, but the idea never made it out of legislative committee. It is using the heightened interest in MTBE this time to push for similar protections. Along with the Department of Human Services, which oversees a voluntary well-head protection plan, DEP outlined five steps to increasing the safety of drinking water. The agencies plan to do the following:

Test all public water supplies and 1,000 private wells to understand the size of the problem;

Look for an alternative fuel. It may be that MTBE will prove too difficult to handle safely. Maine should have an alternative — gasohol has been mentioned — if this proves to be the case.

Try for well-head and water supply protection again through the Legislature.

Improve the reporting procedures between municipal and state officials. The faster everyone knows about a problem, the safer users of a water supply will be and the quicker it can be cleaned up.

Create a way for people to dispose of gasoline safely and teach them how to use it. Now, when a person cleans the engine on a lawnmower, chainsaw, snowmobile or hedge trimmer, there’s no place to put the waste gas. Down the drain? In the the backyard? Maine needs to give people a chance to be responsible.

An argument could be made that the state should have taken these steps years ago, considering the number of times gas has shown up in wells. As earlier defeated legislation suggests, the DEP lacked public support for imposing any new restrictions around well heads. It appears to have that support now.

All sides in the controversy around MTBE should be able to agree that Maine’s goal ought to be to find a fuel that pollutes less than standard gasoline, that works as well as gas and can be used safely. The state can use the current controversy around MTBE to reach that end.