California Weighs Law Allowing Untested Biofuel Mixes In Fuel Tanks

摘要

California's state legislature is poised to send a first-of-its-kind bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) that would allow owners of underground fuel tanks containing untested biofuel blends to keep operating their tanks while third-party investigators determine the blends' corrosive effects, helping the tank owners circumvent a state memo that ordered any tanks containing untested fuel blends to be shut down immediately. An informed source says other states will likely take notice of the legislation, as more industries and municipalities weigh the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel source amid an ongoing national struggle to reconcile the existing gasoline-oriented fuel infrastructure with a growing emphasis on renewable fuel blends. California's Water Resources Control Board (WRCB) issued a memo in February ordering the shutdown of underground storage tanks (USTs) containing fuel blended with more than 20 percent of a biodiesel, such as ethanol. The board has concerns about the untested and possibly corrosive effects of blends above 20 percent on the USTs, echoing long-running concerns about the unknown impacts of high percentage biofuel blends on fuel infrastructure.