California makes it so hard to use homemade biodiesel, even Arnold can't do it

When a mechanic from Half Moon Bay fueled his cars and trucks with used fryer grease, he got slammed with so many rules, regulations and taxes, he had to give up on his environmentally friendly venture and go back to Big Oil. Evan Halper has the maddening details:

The government rang to notify [Dave] Eck that he was a tax cheat. He was scolded for failing to get a "diesel fuel supplier's license," reporting quarterly how many gallons of grease he burns, and paying a tax on each gallon.

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He can also get in trouble for carting kitchen grease away from eateries without a license from the state Meat and Poultry Inspection Branch.

Or for not having at least $1 million in liability insurance, in case he spills some of the stuff. Or for not getting permission from the state Air Resources Board to burn fat in the first place.

The regulations are so burdensome that even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, trying to set an example for Californians by driving a Hummer that burns cooking oil he buys at Costco, had not complied.

Grab your blood-pressure meds and read the rest of the story about why it's almost impossible to (legally) make your own biodiesel in California.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo: EPA

Comments

[Robin Smith]

I think here is the reason. The reason is that when the biodiesel policy was first instituted in 2003, the supply came mostly from used restaurant cooking oil, but has now gradually transitioned to a supply that is farmed from soybeans.

http://www.createfreeblogs.com/smashing/33410/