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Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
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When You Fill Up on Vegetable Oil, Don't Forget to Pay Those Taxes
June 23, 2008 7:25 AM
Every two weeks, Mark Nagurney, who lives in Laurel, Maryland, stops by his local chinese restaurant and picks up several 4.5 gallon plastic jugs filled with used VEGETABLE OIL. He empties them into his 1996 Volkswagon Passat which he overhauled last year for $2,500 to make it run on the slimy stuff.
But according to Tom Pelton who wrote about it in Sunday's BALTIMORE SUN, this CHEAP fuel comes at a HEFTY COST. Pelton says the state of Maryland requires drivers to get a "SPECIAL FUEL" license even if they are using old, discarded, vegetable oil to power their cars. Maryland drivers also have to obtain a $1,000 BOND from an INSURANCE COMPANY, FILE MONTHLY FORMS and PAY THE SAME 24 CENTS PER GALLON TAX as DRIVERS GOING TO THE GAS STATION TO FILL UP ON DIESEL HAVE TO PAY.
And that's not all. Catherine C. Milbourn, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told reporter Pelton that FEDERAL LAWS PROHIBIT RUNNING VEHICLES ON USED VEGETABLE OIL. "VEGETABLE FUEL HAS NOT BEEN REGISTERED AS A MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL." She says it has not been tested to determine whether burning it will harm the environment. Milbourn also told the paper that "GARAGES or COMPANIES that CONVERT VEHICLES to run on VEGETABLE OIL CAN BE SUBJECT TO FEDERAL FINES of $32,500 PER VIOLATION, and the CUSTOMERS can face fines up to $2,750."
June 23, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
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This is why govt. loves big oil!! Alternative fuels and energy will take money out of their pockets and they won't stand for it!! We need govt to get out of the way and let technology lead us out of this mess!
Posted by: robert | Jun 23, 2008 8:09:28 AM
It's government morons like these who will ultimately doom new sources of energy. They can't get real jobs so they work for the government and impose made up BS to impose their will.
If Maryland has a "special fuel" license that isn't anything more than money grubbing, I'll vote for McCain!!
Posted by: DAVID NH | Jun 23, 2008 8:23:54 AM
Where is it again in the constitution that allows the federal gov to regulate what kind of fuel my car uses? End of story.
Posted by: Don | Jun 23, 2008 8:33:30 AM
The government should be encouraging the guy to experiment. A guy named Diesel built a car that ran on peanut oil in 1900. Bet he wasn't harassed.
Posted by: Surelock Homes | Jun 23, 2008 8:33:45 AM
just remamber gang the oil companies are alive and well--and are still in controll of our government----what will be next the firing squad.-----that is why super efficient cars are not on the road---they are available in other countries--volkes wagon diesel got approx 50 mpg in the sixties but cannot do that here today---who is lying to who
Posted by: rodney | Jun 23, 2008 8:57:23 AM
david
before you vote for anyone make sure who is responsible for the situation we are in today---and post it here
Posted by: rodney | Jun 23, 2008 9:00:05 AM
lol
LETS DRILL!!!!!! thats way better
cmon this is just stupid now...
the oil companies are sick...
Posted by: bhrandon | Jun 23, 2008 9:47:10 AM
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