Gunpowder Chronicle posted on June 22, 2008 11:08 AM | Rating:
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An article in today's Calvert Street Communist Party Newsletter sheds some serious light on the trend toward the "straight vegetable oil" fuel options. It turns out that using vegetable oil in your diesel engine is illegal on both the State and Federal levels.
(Note: apparently, "straight vegetable oil" is not the same as biodiesel.)
On the state level, it's all about the Benjamins. If you are using the SVO option and creating your own fuel at home, you need to register with the state, file reports, and pay the road tax. If you don't, watch out... because the Comptroller will be hunting you down. Franchot wants the General Assembly to revisit the law, but even he admits that he still wants the Benjamins. Note: this is the same reason that I have always thought the portal ethanol distillery was a joke. Unless you pay the Benjamins, the government is not going to be happy.
Remember-- everything with Maryland Government is about making sure they get their money.
With the Feds, the issue is that the EPA has yet to certify vegetable oil as a fuel source for motor vehicles. Therefore it is illegal to put it in your engine. It is also illegal to modify an engine.
So for those of you who thought you could beat the man... remember, the budget for tax collection in most governments is ALWAYS larger than the budget for the LEOs charged with investigating homicide.