As a follow-up, I did get a response from the appeals division of the EPA
concerning their determination that individuals are not allowed to produce
biodiesel if is bartered or sold as a transportation fuel on the highways.
You will remember that they shut down the producer of Yellow Brand PREMIUM
Biodiesel after that producer naively tried to follow the laws concerning
registration as a fuel producer (40 CFR 70). The appeal did not shed any
;ight on the matter, but reiterated the original EPA position: only members
of the National Biodiesel Board are allowed to produce biodiesel in this
country, unless they care to submit data that is conservatively estimated to
cost over $1,000,000. The original such data was paid for mostly with federal
funds, but that source has dried up for any new people.
If anyone is interested in communicating with their congressman concerning
this matter, here is the text of a suggested letter that could be a model:
Congressperson::
I wish to express my concern that the Environmental Protection Agency has
stopped the development of locally made biodiesel fuel in Western
Massachusetts and elsewhere. As you know, biodiesel fuel has been shown to be
far cleaner burning and non-toxic as compared to standard petroleum fuel. The
EPA states that although they have certified all other manufacturers of this
fuel in the US based on generic testing, funded in part with federal grants,
no independent manufacturers may use this public domain testing, but rather
must either repeat the tests at a cost believed to be over $1,000,000, or
join the National Biodiesel Board. Rural areas like Western Massachusetts
cannot gain the benefits without excessively high royalty and bond payments
to the National Biodiesel Board. The effect is to assure that only large
scale corporate entities can make this fuel to date. I feel that since
federal taxes were used to certify the health effects of biodiesel, and the
results are not copyrighted, manufacturers other than the National Biodiesel
Board should have the right to use these results.
Locally made biodiesel fuel would help clean our air, reduce waste in
landfills, reduce costs for local resturants, improve employment locally,
reduce global warming, reduce acid rain, keep dollars circulating around our
area, and further the goal of energy independence.
This sort of operation should not be hindered by our government, but actively
promoted.
Your intervention with the EPA to examine the effects of this policy could be
very helpful.
Yours truly,
Promoted by: Homestead Inc., 1664 Cape St., Williamsburg, MA 01096; 800
285-4533
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Biofuels at Journey to Forever
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