Vermont AG Reached Settlement with Oil Refiners over MTBE Contamination

MARCH 15, 2019

Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced a $3.8 million settlement with major oil refiners over groundwater pollution resulting from the underground storage of gasoline containing the additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). The settlement resolved a 2014 lawsuit in which AG Donovan’s predecessor alleged that more than two dozen of the largest oil refiners in the United States — including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhilips, Shell and BP North America — promoted, marketed, and distributed gasoline containing MTBE despite being aware of its potential to cause widespread groundwater contamination. MTBE has been linked to a variety of health problems, and was phased out from gasoline by 2005. Vermont banned MTBE in 2007, but site testing and remediation efforts in the state are ongoing.