Illinois Governor George Ryan recently signed a bill banning the gasoline additive MTBE beginning in 2004. Ryan believes the ban will help corn farmers as ethanol, another gasoline additive and alternative to MTBE, is made from corn. MTBE and ethanol are the main additives employed to help gasoline burn cleaner.
MTBE has been found in numerous States' groundwater supplies. According to Ryan, Illinois' environmental protection agency will soon begin testing groundwater for MTBE contamination.