Diesel drivers run afoul of law by converting to vegetable oil

With fuel prices soaring, Mark Nagurney thought he had figured out a clever way to drive free – and save the Earth at the same time. The 49-year-old Laurel, Md., physicist is one of thousands of people nationally who have converted diesel cars and trucks to run on vegetable oil.

But in burning a cleaner fuel than diesel, Nagurney never imagined he’d end up on the wrong side of federal environmental laws. Or break Maryland’s fuel tax regulations, which require even folks driving on grease thrown away by fast-food restaurants to get a “special fuel” license, obtain a $1,000 bond from an insurance company, file monthly forms and pay the same 24-cents-per-gallon tax as drivers using diesel.

Nagurney finds the tax rules misguided. “Let’s get renewable energy going,” he said.

After hearing about vehicle conversion from some co-workers, the strait-laced Republican defense contractor paid a mechanic $2,500 in October to convert his 1996 Volkswagen Passat so it can run on either vegetable oil or diesel. Nagurney gets waste oil free from a Chinese restaurant in his neighborhood and thinks it’s a great way to recycle and save money.

He’s part of a small but growing number of people nationally who have embraced straight vegetable oil fuel – or “SVO” – as an alternative energy source that helps to free America from foreign petroleum.

The numbers are uncertain, but advocates estimate that thousands of people are converting their vehicles, with mechanic shops springing up that specialize in the conversions. One company, Golden Fuel of Springfield, Mo., has seen a 400 percent increase in sales of kits to convert diesel vehicles to run on SVO, with 200 sold so far this year and 150 orders pending.

But these motorists are running afoul of federal and state government agencies whose jobs are to collect taxes from drivers to pay for road maintenance and make sure that fuels don’t pollute the air.

Maryland drivers face a $1,000 fine for driving on vegetable fuel if they don’t register first with the state and file monthly reports and payments, according to Chuck Ulm, assistant director of motor vehicle taxes in the state comptroller’s office.

“They would be operating without paying the motor vehicle tax as required by law,” Ulm said. “It would be illegal.”

A spokesman for Comptroller Peter Franchot said Franchot would support a change in the law to encourage the use of vegetable oil fuel, perhaps through the creation of a tax credit, although the drivers still would have to pay taxes and register.

But a tax credit in Maryland would have little effect if driving while green is illegal at the federal level. Catherine Milbourn, spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said federal laws prohibit running vehicles on used vegetable oil.

“All fuels have to be tested before they can be used in a vehicle, because when something goes into the engine and is burned up, something comes out of the tailpipe. And we want to make sure it doesn’t harm the environment in any way,” Milbourn said. “Vegetable fuel has not been registered as a motor vehicle fuel.”

Garages or companies that convert vehicles to run on vegetable oil can be subject to federal fines of $32,500 per violation, she said. People who convert their cars face fines of as much as $2,750.

The EPA has not fined anyone for this, but the federal agency is inspecting and investigating people for not following these rules, said Roxanne Smith, another EPA spokeswoman.

Scientists have concluded that burning vegetable oil releases less soot, carbon monoxide and other air pollutants than petroleum fuel – but about 5 percent more nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog. SVO produces about the same amount of carbon dioxide as diesel.

Still, Forrest Gregg, an author who recently published a book called “SVO: Powering Your Vehicle with Straight Vegetable Oil,” said that vegetable oil is considered better than diesel fuel from a global-warming perspective. This is because the plants recently drew the same carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, he said, so returning it is part of a natural cycle.

A regional Golden Fuel franchise, Massa Green Enterprises of Sterling, Va., installs the SVO conversion kits at a cost of $3,500 for a car to $10,000 for a large truck. “Our business has gone through the roof with the increase in price of diesel at the pump,” said Dan Cozart, general manager of Massa Green.

One of the people who bought a system is Nagurney. He popped open the trunk of his Passat to show the 12-gallon plastic tank that holds the vegetable oil. A heater keeps the oil from congealing in cold weather. The mechanic ran tubes from the tank to the engine, which still has a normal diesel tank and can run on standard diesel as well.

Nagurney said he struck up a deal with a local Chinese restaurant to take its used oil for free. The restaurant otherwise wouldhave to pay to have it hauled away. Nagurney leaves the restaurant 4.5 gallon plastic containers with spouts, and the restaurant staffers fill them with old grease.

About once every two weeks, he drives by to collect the containers from the kitchen – usually buying a soda and some food to be friendly.

The government’s view of all this, in terms of taxes, is puzzling to him. “Whatever they tell me to do, I will gladly do,” he said. “But I think this is double taxation if restaurants are paying sales tax on vegetable oil when they buy it and then I have to pay taxes on it a second time when I burn the used oil as fuel.”

He said the savings that come from using SVO are substantial.

“It’s wonderful,” he said, driving around recently, a sweet smell coming from his tailpipe. “My wife and I went on a trip to Williamsburg, Va., two weeks ago, and we drove 400 miles but only paid $4.50 for fuel. It would have cost us about $45 for diesel.”