Congress also decided not to include a liability waiver in the energy bill to protect refiners that blended MTBE into gasoline from lawsuits stemming from contamination. This has touched off a rapid phase-out of MTBE from gasoline stocks ahead of May when the renewable fuel provisions in the energy bill kick in and refiners say they face liability exposure.WTF does that mean?
I don't know guys, I'm coming from this thread. I need to be overdosed - brought up to speed - quickly.
Well go look what I just posted over there!!!
Then don't forget to come back over here to discuss the inane insanity!!!
The "whole story" is far more detailed and lengthly, but in a nutshell...
When the government called for the final phase-out of leaded gasoline, an oxygenate became necessary to enable octane ratings to be maintained. At that time the refiners came to the government with the option to use either ethanol or MTBE. The government, at the time, said in essence, "We don't care, as long as it does the job." Now, all these many years later, the same governemnt is coming back to the same refiners asking, "Why'n the Hell are you using that toxic MTBE crap??" The italicized excerpt, above, means that this same governemnt is refusing to protect these refiners from lawsuits that will, inevitably, arise from the refiners' use of a compund the government previously said was okay for them to use.
Your tax dollars hard at work, folks. Read it and weep. Again.