http://www.trucknews.com/news/ontario-proceeds-with-biofuel-mandate/1002991526/?&er=NA
New Ontario diesel biofuel rules
2014-04-01
TORONTO, Ont. – Although it’s far from happy with a recent decision by
the Ontario government about biofuel, the Ontario Trucking Alliance
(OTA) knows there is little it can do but wait.
Originally, the province of Ontario scheduled a Ministry of Environment
proposal about biofuel in diesel to come into effect on April 1, 2014.
Today, however, the government pushed back the start date for one year
and changed the terms of the mandate.
To begin with, biofuel sold in the province will still be required to
contain an annual average of 2% of biofuel, but now, rather than jumping
to a 4% requirement in 2016, that full implementation will be delayed
until 2017. Also there will be an intermediary step of a 3% annual
average requirement. Additionally, fuel sold in Northern Ontario will be
excluded from the mandate until 2017.
In a statement, the OTA said the Ontario biofuel mandate will require or
incentivize “fuel producers to use biodiesel from plant based
product--feedstock petroleum refiners have been less inclined to use
because of concerns related to availability, winter and other
performance criteria. (Most of the biofuel content used to meet the
federal mandate is synthetic and is imported from off-shore sources).”
Not only is the OTA concerned about the type of biofuel being used, it
is also concerned about the amounts that will wind up in truck fuel tanks.
“The association fears [the mandate] will inevitably lead to the use of
biodiesel with a higher biofuel content than that currently accepted by
most heavy truck engine manufacturers’ warranties and the need for
strict requirements for adherence to fuel quality standards. OTA felt
the best way to ensure those concerns are addressed would be through a
cap on biofuel content at 5%. The Ministry of the Environment, on the
other hand, felt that enough flexibility has been built into the
regulation to avoid biodiesel being sold at B5 or greater.”
According to OTA president David Bradley, the government’s determination
to move forward with the program means there is little recourse for
drivers or trucking companies.
“With the introduction of the regulations we have no choice but to see
what happens,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate that the legitimate concerns of the consumer were not
more explicitly addressed when the Ministry of the Environment had the
chance to do so during the writing of the regulation. However, going
forward, we’re calling upon the Ministry of the Environment to now work
with us and the Ministry of Transportation to ensure that warranty
issues, fuel quality and winter performance are monitored and corrective
action taken when necessary.”
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