“I am honored to receive this award from the HVA, and I appreciate their longstanding efforts to protect the environmental welfare and natural character of the Housatonic Valley,” said Senator DeLuca. “MTBE has been an environmental hazard and an economic burden for the people of Connecticut over the past several years, and it’s good to see this long, sad chapter finally come to a close. The use of MTBE may have originally been instituted with the right intentions, but for the hundreds of Connecticut residents who have had their groundwater polluted, it is a nuisance that could not be rid of soon enough.”

MTBE is a gasoline additive that when spilled, moves through groundwater faster and further than other components of gasoline, and is extremely difficult to remove from water. Originally intended to help states comply with the Federal Clean Air Act, the potentially carcinogenic chemical has contaminated hundreds of wells throughout Connecticut.

During the 2003 legislative session, Senator DeLuca defeated efforts to overturn the phase-out date, and helped pass a bill to slightly extend the deadline in order for Connecticut to join with the state of New York in making bulk purchases of ethanol, an MTBE alternative. Senator DeLuca also worked with New York State Senator Carl Mercellino to combat misinformation being spread through the Connecticut legislature that New York State was considering repealing their MTBE ban.