WASHINGTON - Talks to resolve differences in energy legislation passed by the House and Senate will begin this week after key lawmakers met with President George W. Bush at the White House Tuesday.
But lawmakers have yet to solve the most knotty energy bill issue -- liability protection for makers of a water-fouling gasoline additive.
Lawmakers emerged from the hour-long meeting holding to Bush's goal to get compromise energy legislation passed by Aug. 1. House and Senate lawmakers will meet beginning on Thursday to hash out their many differences.
A key lawmaker, House Energy Committee Chairman Joe Barton of Texas, said he has a plan to solve a nasty impasse over liability protection for oil companies that make a water polluting fuel additive. The House supports liability protection but the Senate opposes it.
"The president brought (MTBE) up and he directed that we need to get a compromise," Barton told reporters.
US refiners began adding MTBE to gasoline in 1979 as an anti-knock agent that replaced lead, but it has seeped into water supplies through leaky underground tanks, rendering the water undrinkable.
Senate differences over liability protection for MTBE makers sank past efforts to pass energy legislation in that chamber.
Barton said he will brief New Mexico senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee, on his plan as early as this week.
"It's time to start showing our cards," Barton said.
Barton and Republican Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire have reportedly been pressing for an industry-funded trust fund to clean up MTBE water contamination, which has been found in all 50 states.
Municipal water utilities say the cleanup bill is as high as $89 billion. But the American Petroleum Institute -- which represents most US oil companies -- says it is $1.5 billion at the maximum.
Earlier in the day Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, whose state has some of the biggest MTBE cleanup sites, said he has talked with Bass and Barton about a solution. But asked if he was any closer to a deal than he was two weeks ago Gregg answered "no."
Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe told reporters that MTBE "continues to be the looming question," and raised doubts that an industry-funded trust fund could solve the problem.
Domenici said MTBE is at the top of the list of knotty issues. "The leader of the list is MTBE, there's just no question about it," he said.
There are also big differences between the bills' pricetags.
The Senate bill extends about $16 billion in tax breaks and incentives to promote US energy production, versus the $8 billion House package. The White House has called for $6.7 billion over a decade and has opposed some tax breaks for mature oil-producing technologies supported by the House.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
