Archives

Diesel owners who switch to cooking grease can run afoul of the law. Just ask the governor. (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-vegoil6-2008may06,0,7125217.story)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/506/fuel.jpgEvan Halper - LA Times - May 6, 2008

Dave Eck, a Half Moon Bay mechanic, had attracted a media spotlight with his fleet of vehicles fueled by used fryer grease from a local chowder house. So when Sacramento called, he figured officials wanted advice on promoting alternative fuels.

Not at all. The government rang to notify 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.

"All of a sudden they nailed me for a road tax," said Eck, who drives a Hummer converted to run on vegetable oil. "I said, 'Not a problem. I'll do my part. But what do I get? At least let me into the carpool lane.' "

No such luck. The state offered Eck only a potentially large fine -- and not just for failing to pay taxes. 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...http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-vegoil6-2008may06,0,7125217.story

Thanks Tarabell for the find.

sweet, as long as he has a hummer, fine his ass. :Banane35:

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.

It'll probably cost him mega-$$$'s for that license, and he'll need an accountant to keep track of his fuel usage!

Don't you just love the government?

Harry

AH,

So California revenuers are no better than Illinois revenuers!!

They are setting up roadblocks to inovation with unreasonable requirements for individuals to make there own fuel, and recycle an otherwise disgusting waste, free of charge to the state.

Maybe all the restraunts in California should start trucking their frier oil to the LaBrea tarpits, and dump it there, and let the state take the responsibility they apparently would like to have.

As far as the car-pool lane, NO WAY. He is still polluting. Probably a little more with SVO, and not bio-diesel, and certainly a bunch more than the typical car, let alone the Prius which is like five times better than the typical car in non-CO2 emissions.

What the heck is that state thinking!? They should encourage bio fuels instead of fining someone who came up with a new way to fuel cars!!! At the way gas prices are going up, we need to find cheaper ways to fuel cars and the government needs to come out with bio fuels or something before we have to pay $10/gallon or even more.
I applaud the guy for being environmentally conscious. :bananapowerslide:

From what I hear from Adam Carolla in the morning, you can't do anything without the california law wanting its cut.

They don't regulate those who need to be regulated (i.e. Corporate America) and regulate environmentally conscious citizens that don't. Ridiculous.

well..it's easier to win if you hit a man when he's down. It's easier to take on a few citizens than the corporates with the lawyers who will probably cut their gain...and of course the gov't wants that extra dough...no one gets a break..even the good guys.

Don't take this wrong, but under my casual understanding of the regs, these engines aren't EPA emission certified to run on vegie oil (maybe some engines have certs for bio diesel?)and so the operators would potentially be subject to EPA enforcement. I think there are special exemptions for "experiments," but running a fleet on it and seeking media attention is asking for trouble from the government.

I don't know how bad vegetable oil fuel emissions are for the smog but some studies have suggested that they may be strongly more mutagenic than conventional diesel emissions http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17375286.

I had seen reports on the mutagenicity of RME before, but I think they need more data. Also, RME is not straight vegetable oil, it's biodiesel. Methyl Ester are what is created when the oil is reacted with methanol and NaOH. Most people running WVO use it straight and only combine it with diesel/biodiesel in cold climates if their set-up doesn't handle the temps well.

Over here in maryland the department that regulates road tax is looking into having some sort of permit for indiviual users of WVO/SVO. In Montgomery county, they had a county govt. website set up for the contact and free exchange of WVO.

I think governments will always want their piece of the pie, but that doesn't mean they won't cooperate.

While the licenses and permits should be waved, the driver should pay the per gallon tax that everyone else is paying.

Do drivers of electric cars or plug-in hybrids have to pay road taxes as well? Having to pay tax for waste vegetable oil falls into the same category as having to pay road tax for electricity powering electric vehicles in my opinion. Those vehicles all use the road, regardless of what moves them.

Hi Mike,

You are right. Which is why as vehicles become more fuel efficient the tax per gallon will need to go up.

Which makes gas more expensive -> which makes better fuel economy more desirable -> which makes the tax per gallon to need to go up. And so on. The point being, its a positive feedback loop, with the outcome that much better fuel economy in our vehicles.

I think they might switch to more fees associated with vehicle registration and title along with driver licenses. Correct me if I'm wrong but to become a driver in Germany the license and registration cost on the order of a couple grand. At the time of regeistration it won't matter what fuel (or how much) you use because everyone will pay an anual tax based on the vehicle they use. Or they could tie the taxes with your car insurance based on how much you drive anually.

One way or another.... the tax man com'ith!