There are some people who always complain, but never do anything to fix what they say is broken. In response to the suggestion that they get involved and try to make things better, such people usually reason that one person cannot make a difference.

Whatever you do, don't tell New Jersey's Barry Grossman that one person, and one group, can't make a difference. The organization that he started, called Oxybusters, hard fought fight against the gasoline additive MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) has just landed a major ally: the federal EPA.

Oxybusters had two goals when it began in 1992: (1) removing MTBE from the nation's gasoline and (2) eliminating a federal requirement that gasoline contain a specified percentage of oxygen, called the oxygenate mandate. On July 26 of this year, the EPA finally acknowledged that groups such as Oxybusters have a valid point, and the EPA is now calling for a sharp cutback in MTBE use.

Said another way, it appears that the EPA is conceding that Oxybusters and other MTBE foes were right!! Seldom do the feds make such admissions, even by implication.

Ironically, it was the EPA that ordered that MTBE be added to gasoline in the first place. The idea sounded great on paper. By adding MTBE, the mixed gasoline supposedly burned more efficiently, thereby reducing the amount of pollution generated during combustion. Sixteen States with dirtier air were required by the EPA to sell gasoline mixed with MTBE.

But it didn't take long for reports to surface that the MTBE dream might not have been so dreamy after all. First was the dizziness factor. People started to complain that the mixture made them light headed, dizzy and even nauseous. Not every one complained, and not every one seemed to be bothered by the enhanced gasoline. But complaints started to come in.

Headaches,proved not to be the biggest pain associated with MTBE. The biggest headache started when MTBE began contaminating the nation's drinking water supply. Many scientists believe that MTBE can, at certain levels, make people become ill if it is consumed.

Groundwater contamination occurred after the underground storage tanks storing the reformulated gasoline started leaking. Tank leaks permitted the MTBE to enter the groundwater. Public water supply companies, as well as many individuals, often rely on underground aquifers as a source of drinking water.

Thus, when Oxybusters started in 1992, it really began to fight an uphill battle. The federal government wanted MTBE in our gasoline, and companies stood to make large profits as result of this order.

As anyone familiar with government knows, it can be very difficult to get the government to do anything. It must be 10 times more difficult to stop the government once it embarks on a project, such as in this case the MTBE program.

Oxybusters is now found in several States including Pennsylvania, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Texas. Each State organization operates independently, while sharing the common goal of educating the public and public officials on the hazards and risks associated with MTBE and the federal oxygenate mandate .

Oxybusters of Texas began in February 1994 when it was learned that Texas would start selling MTBE-containing gasoline in 1995. The group began in California not long after people started becoming ill.

According to George Marshall, Director of Operations for Oxybusters Texas, "An Oxybusters volunteer is anyone who is suffering from symptoms or is concerned enough to want to help." Marshall told me that he feels "great relief" following the EPA's decision. Since 1992, Oxybusters has relentlessly written to the EPA, and others, seeking this very result.

While relieved, Marshall is also cautiously optimistic because Congress has not yet acted to eliminate the oxygenate mandate. Even though the Clean Air Act might provide the EPA Chief with the authority to eliminate the mandate absent Congressional action, thus far EPA has not acted.

Some materials about Oxybusters can be found at http://www.oxybusters.com. While Oxybusters cannot assume full responsibility for the EPA's recent decision to curtail the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive, it unquestionably made a difference. It goes to show that one person, and one organization, can make a significant contribution for everyone's well being.

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Published: August 5, 1999

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Stuart Lieberman only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.