Opinions divided on biodiesel mandate

Biodiesel is diesel fuel made from animal fats, corn oil and soybean oil.

The Iowa Senate passed the measure in a 31-19 vote last week.

According to that bill, Senate File 464, the 5-percent blend would be required as of July 1.

The bill moved to the House, where it hasn't been debated yet, according to Rep. Chuck Soderberg, of Le Mars.

If it doesn't move fast, he added, it might not move at all, at least not this session.

Legislators are in the midst of hashing out the state's budget and nearing the end of the 110-day session -- May 1.

Beyond that taxpayers foot the bill for extra days.

"We'll probably not go into special session for this," Soderberg said of the biodiesel issue in a phone interview earlier this week. "If it's going to move, it's going to be in the next day or two."

If the bill does pass, Iowa would be the eighth state to have a biodiesel mandate.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, of Hull, voted against the bill in the Senate.

"I'm a huge biodiesel fan, but as policy makers, we have to understand that once we start bailing out an industry, where does it end?" Feenstra said, noting that other industries, like the milk industry, are struggling now.

"It's a dangerous game once you start bailing out one versus another," he said. "I believe what we have in place, tax credits for biodiesel, is a good thing."

Soderberg said he'd wait until he sees the bill before he decides which way to vote.

Soderberg has heard from people on both sides of the issue.

Retailers and the trucking industry are pushing to see the bill eliminated.

For one thing, this biodiesel blend mandate would eliminate a tax credit currently given to retailers who sell diesel mixed with biodiesel.

This tax credit, Soderberg said, was designed to boost use of biodiesel. The proposed mandate would accomplish this without need for giving out tax credits.

However, those retailers that sold blends 10 percent or higher could get a tax credit of 3 cents per gallon under the Senate bill.

Some opponents to the bill suggest it would keep truckers, big diesel users, from buying diesel in Iowa.

Members of the trucking industry have expressed concerns about the possibility of severe cold causing biodiesel to gel, Soderberg said. Some manufacturers do not recommend using biodiesel blends in their truck engines, he added.

"We don't want to see them (truckers) go around Iowa, rather than through it," Soderberg said. "Or just purchase diesel on the other side of the border."

Supporters for the bill include biodiesel producers and soy farmers, who sell soybeans to biodiesel producers, Soderberg said.

Earlier, during a meeting with Soderberg and Sen. Randy Feenstra in Le Mars, Dallas Thompson, of Kingsley, spoke in support of the measure.

"As a young farmer this gives hope that we have something going on out here," he said. "We're producing more renewable fuels instead of oil. It helps farmers."

Farmers are growing crops with higher and higher yields, Thompson added. A biodiesel mandate would help increase biodiesel production and give farmers a place to sell their crop.

Biodiesel, Thompson said, is a safe, reliable fuel.

"We use it in our own equipment," he said.

Others argue that the biodiesel mandate would promote industrial growth in Iowa.

"Without this, the industry would probably go away," said Dave Hoffman at the same meeting. Hoffman is the president of Plymouth Energy, the ethanol plant north of Merrill.

"We need to do whatever we can to support local industries -- not (just supporting) all corporations," Hoffman added.

The ethanol plant in Marcus has the foundation for a biodiesel plant but hasn't gone through with it yet, according to Mark Bohner of the Farm Bureau.

Soderberg said he'd like to see means other than a blend mandate to expand use of biodiesel and other renewable fuels.

"I'm not sure that a mandate is the way to go," he said.