The US state of New Hampshire has been granted permission to claim costs for pollution of private drinking water supplies.
The permission comes from the state's Supreme Court as part of a long-running lawsuit against several gasoline suppliers, refiners and manufacturers of additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).
The additive, used to increase gasoline octane levels, also has highly polluting qualities and is easily absorbed into groundwater. The additive was sold in gasoline throughout the state from 1995 until it was banned by New Hampshire in 2006.
The initial lawsuit was launched in 2003 by the state of New Hampshire, starting in the US Federal Court, but returning to the state system in 2007. The defending companies accepted the payment of costs for testing, treating and decontaminating public water supplies, but the recent Supreme Court decision now extends those costs to include private individuals and water suppliers.