Sen. Patrick Leahy praises Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol Browner (left) for her March announcement that the EPA and Agriculture Department (USDA) would press Congress to significantly reduce or eliminate the fuel additive MTBE (methy tertiary butyl ether) and promote safe alternatives such as ethanol. The EPA has determined that MTBE, which has been increasingly found in the nation's groundwater and drinking water, poses an unreasonable risk to public health and the environment. The EPA-USDA recommendations to Congress reinforce legislative initiatives promoted earlier this year by Vermont and seven other states.

More information about MTBE may be found at http://sd.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/vocns/