SANTA MONICA SEEKS $200 MILLION FROM OIL COMPANIES FOR MTBE CLEANUP

Oil industry officials say a lawsuit filed by the city of Santa Monica earlier this month to clean up methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination at a drinking water wellfield was long expected, although something companies had hoped to avoid. The city sued seven oil companies for $200 million, and expect that a trial will sort out whether some companies are more liable for cleanup than others, according to city officials. The city sued June 19 in San Francisco County...