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}J4-¿, MTRE from page 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The League joined with the National League of Cities (NLC) and other municipal leagues in suc- cessfully lobbying for new language that preserves the ability of cities to bring their legal suits in state court while permitting MTBE producers to request that their cases be heard in federal court. "NLC and its coalition partners applaud the efforts of a bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders who rejected this onerous proposal," said NLC President Anthony A. Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C. "Cities will continue to have the ability to recoup the clean-up costs directly from the polluters." Nationwide cleanup costs for drinking water sources polluted by MTBE is estimated in the range of $25 to $85 billion. During the past two years, NLC opposed numerous efforts by the House to limit the liability of MTBE producers - efforts that would have ultimately passed along billions of dollars in cleanup costs to the taxpayers. MTBE has been known to contaminate large quantities of surface and ground water through leaking under- ground storage tanks and pipelines to ground and surface water. More than 28 states have detected MTBE contamination in their water supply with the most extensive contaminations found in California, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. In April, the House of Representatives included the MTBE provision in its version of the energy bill over the objections of local governments, water utilities and the Senate, which had twice rejected the language under the threat of filibuster. Most recently, NLC and coalition partners worked to defeat a deal brokered between House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) that would have invali- dated any MTBE-related lawsuit filed by localities since September 5, 2003, with the exception of Bass' home state of New Hampshire, which would have retained the right to sue. The Barton-Bass deal would have also preempted the ability of states to ban MTBE, forced all claims into federal court, and placed a financial cap on the amount that cities and water utilities could collect from the MTBE producers. "The earlier House MTBE-liability waiver protecting MTBE producers would have been the 'mother of all unfunded mandates'," said NLC Executive Director Donald J. Borut. "We would have seen a billion-dollar bailout for many of the same oil and gas industry suppliers who are now seeing record profits." MTBE came under common use following the adoption of the Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990. Court suits brought by states and localities against MTBE manufacturers have already resulted in settlements of more than $320 million in California and Texas, and more than 100 other cases are outstanding. In one of those lawsuits, documents produced in the trial proved that MTBE producers have known since the late 1980s that MTBE contaminated the water supply and knew it was enormously expensive to clean up. . . . . . . -..... . . . . . . . . .. . EMINENT DOMAIN from page 1 While many California agencies use eminent domain rarely, if at all, this last-resort tool is sometimes needed to revitalize communities, eliminate blight, provide safe, affordable housing and clean up environmental pollution. In addition, federal funds such as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) often make up part of the financing package for redevelopment projects. The congressional measures are summa- rized below as well as steps city officials can take to help educate their congressional repre- sentatives about this issue. Summary of Bills H.R. 3058 (the Senate Appropriations Bill) left the Senate Appropriations Committee without an amendment that would have prevented the use of federal funds in economic development projects in which eminent domain was used. California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Louisi- ana Senator Mary Landrieu vvere able to get action on this amendment deferred until the bill goes to the Senate Floor for debate and a vote. Continued on Page 7 Visit the League's Official Website u www.cacities.org PAGE 6/PRIORITV FOCUS or -