MTBE removal from groundwater and soil contamination in the U.S. was estimated to cost from $1 billion to US$30 billion, including removing the compound from aquifers and municipal water supplies and replacing leaky underground oil tanks. In one case, the cost to oil companies to clean up the MTBE in wells belonging to the city of Santa Monica, California was estimated to exceed $200 million. In another case, New York City estimated a $250 million cost for cleanup of a single wellfield in the borough of Queens in 2009. In 2013 a jury awarded the State of New Hampshire $236 million in damages in order to treat groundwater contaminated by MTBE.
Many lawsuits are still pending regarding MTBE contamination of public and private drinking water supplies.