BioDieselNow - Renewable biodiesel fuel

Well, Ya all hear about it, and some of us have to get licensed because we have been turned in to the Chicken Cops who monitor and enforce the GREASE TRANSPORT LIC laws for Food and Ag.  OK, I thought, I'll do it until it is my time is up. Yep, the Grease Cop came to my home and said your time has come.  So I started calling my insurance company. Dead end there. Googled every possible combo to get insurance coverage for the grease cops.  There must be one person on BIODIESEL NOW who nows who sells the $1,000,000 coverage for a guy who is collecting for his own use. Not for sale or any other reason. You can help me remove this stupid law from the books by just sending an email to Senator Kehoe in Southern California, and your own state rep. We need to change the laws so we are not crimenals for collecting oil for all of the right reasons. Any help is welcome,,,

Thanks Greaser

Greaser, we are having the same problem!  Well sort of.  I called our insurance agent about the million dollar liability coverage, and she said that it is for commercial vehicles only and Allstate doesn't  deal with commercial.  She gave me several numbers in our town who deal with commercial vehicles (you have to have one of those first).  So I got a quote for our 91 chevy truck of about $250 per month!  This is just way too much to make collecting the small amount (just for our family) worth it.  I just posted on craigslist to see if anyone wants to form a co-op and go in on vehicle insurance costs to make it more managable.  We are in Northern California also.  I don't have the specific phone numbers available anymore, but if you are still hitting a wall, I can call our agent again and get the numbers for you.  I have posted and searched on several websites about ways of getting around the insurance policy.  It is incredible that farmers and anyone can carry around flamable fuel in the back of their trucks with no extra insurance needed, but we can't carry vegetable oil.  Preaching to the choir, I'm sure. I talked to one guy at the Department of Ag, and he agreed it seemed ridiculous.  He said to write our state legislators. When I asked about the fine for not having the license, he told me they weren't giving out fines, whatever that means, I didn't press the issue.

 Who shut you down, by the way, and how did they find out that you were doing it? 
 

I got my policy from Farmers Insurance in Walnut Creek.  Their # is (925)945-8303.  Ask for Pam.  I think it was some sort of umbrella thing and we did it all by fax.  Cost a little more than $300. 

It's good to be legit in the long run. 

Good Luck. 

Daystar,  I was here at home when Food and Ag came to my home. He said someone called in and gave them details about me and where I lived and what I was doing. I asked him who, but he said he couldn't tell me. I know it was a guy named Dave here in Lake County. An ex-cop from City of Clearlake. I have been looking to start a co-op here in Lake County for years and posted a CL ad for over a year and he contacted me and said he was starting a BD co-op. Turns out he is a very confused person. Addiction to booze and buzz. It took me two months to see his true color. BLACK heart with a good con rap. I cut him loose. He now has all of his donated stuff from half dozen BD folks for sale. I have been in contact with my local assembly woman and discovered that she and almost all the state legislators sign the bill to require the insurance. I feel a smart co-op group could form state wide, and have many members under one policy collecting oil. I can see the future coming that a Statewide Biodiesel Co-Op get laws passed that require all kitchen grease to be transported to biodiesel processors, And the large Rendering Company need to get special license and permit to haul grease to feed farm animals and pet foods. After talking to Food and Ag, I asked what the fine was also. The reply was, " why, do you want to weigh the risk until you get caught?"  The investigator who came to my home said that he would issue a warning and then if I kept carring oil w/out license, he would send a complaint to DA office for the courts to hear. I understand that the court gives out the fine of $1700 low end and $5000 high end plus court costs, and, or up to one year in the county jail. Makes a person wonder how a jury member would feel voting guilty for doing the right thing for the best possible reasons. Help them breath cleaner air, Help their family members and loved ones with a better environment and help take the load off the oil imports and reduce fuel prices for all. The law was passed to stop people from dumping grease in storm drains and sewer systems. The only history of this ever happening was by the large rendering companys. The law makers didn't think this over very well, or at all. If they did, they would know how enviornmental friendly the biodiesel folks are, they would have known how much work we do to collect oil, and we do everything we can to not loose any in a spill. But when the election money is coming in, it is hard to vote no on their bill.

Greaser

Greaser car

 I hear that bio-diesel is very popular in Notheren Cal, and supplies of WVO are tight and it now seems cuthroat too. And it seems to me some one ratted you out to cut you out of the supply chain.  you might allso look in to a bond to cover your insurance needs. But be aware that the dept of AG in rasing the new lic... fees to over $300. a year, and for commerical renders its jumping to over &3000.00 a year. California is GREEDY!   

did you ever get a good answer for this?

 I was looking around for my own purposes and found this:

http://www.greasehaulers.com/

 I also found these guys on the web, I can't speak to cost or other issues other than they appear to offer a waste hauler surety bond that may be competitive. 

 http://www.bond007.net/surety/waste_hauler_bond.html 

 I just left a mesage at the 925 number that got posted.

My information may very well be wrong, but I read that the bonding and licensing for wvo law was lobbied for by the rendering companies here in California. If this is true it was probably so they could protect their businesses from small time individual BD operators.

Jim