Pollution lawsuit pays off

Eight towns share MTBE settlement

Eight area communities are among 83 statewide that are receiving settlement money from a lawsuit related to the presence of a gasoline additive in public drinking-water supplies.

The settlement amounts for the local towns - Bellingham, Dover, Holliston, Hudson, Millis, Norfolk, Sudbury, and Wayland - range from $200,000 to more than $1.8 million.

In lower concentrations, the fuel additive MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, can render water undrinkable due to a turpentine-like taste and smell. At higher rates, it may be a carcinogen.

According to Richard Sandman, a Malden lawyer who represented all of the Massachusetts communities in the lawsuit, the towns can spend the windfall on whatever they choose. Some communities are sinking the money into water system improvements or monitoring. Others plan to use the funds to bolster sagging operating budgets.

Nationwide, oil companies are paying out $423 million to water districts in 17 states, with $83 million going to Massachusetts cities and towns. About 70 percent of the oil companies that were sued participated in the settlement, which was announced in May and passed a final hurdle in September. ExxonMobil, the largest oil refiner in the world, is among those companies that instead chose to proceed with the court case.

Most of the local communities receiving settlements had only trace amounts of MTBE in their water systems or nearby areas, not enough to shut them down. The state maximum level for the compound is 70 parts per billion.

Dover was an exception: The town was forced to close its municipal well field on Church Street in 1990 after MTBE was detected in the water. While it was believed the chemical had worked its way from a leaky underground gasoline storage tank at a nearby Mobil station, the connection was never firmly established. The Church Street wells are still closed.

According to Town Administrator David Ramsay, Dover spent about $236,000 connecting water users to a new supply. When Dover officials learned of the lawsuit against the oil companies in 2003, they signed the town up.

The Board of Selectmen's chairwoman, Carol Lisbon, said the town received a settlement of $1,821,966. "Town Meeting will decide what to do with the money," Lisbon said, with the issue lined up for discussion during the annual session in May. "We'll be studying what to use it for in the meantime."

According to Sandman, the settlements were determined by the amount of MTBE found, the number of test rounds it remained present, and how long ago it was detected.

As part of the settlement, the oil companies have also agreed that the communities will be covered for the next 30 years, should MTBE be detected in wells where it was not previously found.

The additive was first used as a replacement for lead in gasoline starting in 1979, and later used in higher levels to reduce tailpipe emissions under the federal Clean Air Act by helping gasoline burn more completely, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's website. In recent years it essentially has been replaced as an oxygenate by ethanol.

However, while MTBE was cleaning up the air, it was polluting ground and surface waters; it separates from fuel when spilled, and travels quickly through soil into nearby water sources. The compound is also slow to dissipate.

Contamination is generally due to leaking storage tanks or fuel-laden storm runoff from roads and parking lots.

Sudbury's settlement was $1.14 million. "We were very happy about the settlement," said the town's Water District superintendent, Al Renzi. "We didn't expect it to go this well. We had some exposure several years ago, but nothing we had to treat. We plan on using the settlement for infrastructure."

Millis received $512,000, according to Town Administrator Charles Aspinwall, who said MTBE had been detected in three of six town wells, along with the compound trichloro-ethane. One of the three wells didn't require treatment, he said. "Water in the other two wells was treated with an air-stripping tower," Aspinwall said. "We were fortunate enough to get a state grant. The town paid about $100,000 of the cost." The settlement will go into the town's general fund.

Norfolk was awarded $297,000, according to Town Administrator Jack Hathaway. "Trace amounts of MTBE had been found in the soil near one of the town's two wells, six or seven years ago," Hathaway said. No treatment was needed. "For now, the settlement money will likely go into free cash," he said.

Officials in Bellingham said the town received $200,000, while Holliston officials reported its share was $500,000.

Wayland's Town Administrator Frederic Turkington said there is no planned use for the $533,000 settlement his town received. It will be placed in the town's general fund. "As far as contamination, there was none to trace amounts," Turkington said, and no cleanup measures were required.

In Hudson, which is receiving $480,000, the money "will go to help eliminate budget deficits for next year," according to Executive Assistant Paul Blazar. "We were pleased with the settlement," Blazar said. "MTBE contamination is a serious problem, and we don't really know what the future will bring."

Massachusetts communities filed the case against the oil refineries in 2003. The suit merged with similar actions filed by several other states.

"The Environmental Protection Agency hasn't set any standard for MTBE," Sandman said. "Our argument is no amount of MTBE should be in the drinking water. The refineries knew there could be leaking underground tanks, since there are a lot of old tanks in the country. They should have known there would be a problem."

The court case, which involves ExxonMobil and a handful of other companies that declined to settle before trial, will be heard by the federal Multi-District Litigation Court in New York. A date for the next hearing has yet to be set.

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com