On October 4th, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) issued its Biodiesel Regulatory Guidance. Because the document is a restatement of existing policy and does not present any new rules, no compliance is currently required. The document outlines ARB's timeline for its first-ever motor vehicle specifications rulemaking (emissions regulations) process for biodiesel. It clarifies that for the next 5 years, there are no expected ARB actions on blends up to B5 and that ARB will continue to work on blends of B6 and above with regulations expected to come out in late 2012.  

CBA recognizes and appreciates this ARB action applying to blends up to B5 and will remain actively engaged with ARB as they continue testing. CBA is committed to safeguarding the use of all blends of biodiesel in California and will work to make sure that, once new regulations come out in 2012, higher blends are able to make their full and much-needed contribution to California's carbon reduction goals.

Jolie Ginsburg and Brian Deninger, Owners

Dogpatch Biofuels

Since 2000, Jolie Ginsburg and Brian Deninger have been co-owners of the successful San Francisco-based outdoor travel company Incredible Adventures, which takes small groups to some of the most scenic locations in the western United States. In 2002, motivated by her uncomfortable feeling about the environmental impact of the company's vehicles crossing the state five days a week to visit sensitive natural sites like Yosemite, Jolie began to explore the idea of a cleaner burning fuel. In 2003, Incredible Adventures became the first and only tour company in the United States dedicated to using biodiesel as the primary source of fuel for its tour vehicles. Today that fleet is the best customer at Dogpath Biofuels, SF's first and only B100 fueling station, now owned by Jolie and Brian.

The story of how that happened is another example of the advantage of vertical integration, seen often as an element in the success of California biodiesel businesses, and of the indomitable spirit of environmental entrepreneurs who just won't take no for an answer.

In 2003, after what she describes as quite a bit of "unrealistic legwork" on a vaguely understood path toward using veggie oil in her company vehicles, Jolie learned about the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective, operating out of the Berkeley Ecology Center. She joined the group and did an internship where she learned how to make biodiesel and was involved in outreach and education, including the group's locally famous Biodiesel 101 workshops, which educated a whole community of Bay Area biodiesel activists.

Jolie and Brian's first foray into running their Incredible Adventures fleet on biodiesel involved schlepping 5-gallon carboys of fuel across the Bay to their Townsend Street office, and though there was an elevator, more often than not, carrying them upstairs. After 6 months, with a very pressing need to find a place to store fuel, Incredible Adventures found a new home on 8th Street in SOMA and was able to buy three 350-gallon storage tanks, along with liner and casing, from the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective (BBC).

Initially, Jolie and Brian just wanted fuel for the company's use, but in 2004 they co-hosted an event with BBC called Greasing The Wheels and invited their fellow San Francisco biodiesel users. Seeing a need for fueling on the west side of the Bay, Jolie and Brian offered to house the new SF Biofuels Co-op, including accommodating a program of volunteer shifts that pumped fuel for the group's roughly 200 members. Jolie and Brian were actively involved in Co-op activities, which included working with SF Biofuels Co-op chair, Eric Bowen, to help establish the City of San Francisco's biodiesel program that converted the entire fleet to B20, making it the largest city in the world to do so. Jolie served as treasurer of the Co-op from beginning to end, finishing up the group's 2009 taxes in 2010.

In June of 2007, when Incredible Adventures had to stop hosting Co-op fueling for a number of reasons, including space and neighbor complaints, SF Co-op volunteers successfully established fueling at SF Petroleum for over a year, and began to advise two new members, the intrepid team of Stanford-educated physicists, Michele Swiggers and Robin Gold, on how to reach their goal of opening a public B100 fueling station. As it was winding down its commitment to member fueling, the Co-op provided support to member group Peoples Fuel to continue its bulk fueling operations. it gave its user group list to Michele and Robin to help them  achieve their dream, which they did in an up-and-coming San Francisco neighborhood known as Dogpatch. 

Founders, Michele and Robin, at Dogpatch BIofuels

When asked about the challenges of owning a B100 station, specifically the issue of new diesel engines, Brian is undaunted. Because the current DPS fuel injection pumps can allow biodiesel to slip between the pistons and get into the oil, causing dilution, Dogpatch encourages new car owners to do their own oil dilution test, which is very simple, and to let them know the results. In general, Brian credits biodiesel with significantly improved engine performance and points out that in his fleet of seven vans, engine problems that usually surface at 100-150k miles, don't show up until 350k miles. Very optimistic about the future of engine manufacturing, Brian believes we will see warranties for the use of higher and higher blends of biodiesel and improvements that will ultimately make NOx issues moot.

On the regulatory front, both Jolie and Brian look forward to a time when biodiesel moves beyond its status as an experimental fuel in California. Their hope is for an end to current DMS regulations, which require quarterly reports and that card lock systems track user membership (making them prohibitively expensive). A card lock system would allow them to open 24/7 to service a larger customer base especially in the local area, which sees huge truck volume from 5-7am.

Jolie and Brian continue to move along the vertical integration path. Biolighter, a biodiesel-based lighter fluid produced in collaboration with Dogpath Station Master, Joe Marlin, is front and center in the station's eco-friendly convenience store. Investors are actively being sought to help bring Biolighter and other future products line ideas, including a Sterno replacement and other biodiesel-based lubricating solvents, to market. They also plan to establish a production plant in San Francisco that would create local jobs beginning with product packaging and ultimately expanding to other product inputs.

When Jolie and Brian were the first to join CBA as Dogpatch Biofuels at the new small business level earlier this year, they jump-started CBA's effort to expand its reach into the community of B100 retailers. CBA is grateful for this and for their pioneering work in providing access, which has helped to keep biodiesel strong in the SF Bay Area.

At the center of San Francisco's biodiesel community since the beginning, Brian and Jolie are no strangers to party planning and are looking forward to hosting the upcoming reunion of SF Co-op members, which will feature a whole new element - the next generation - among them their two young sons, Chasin and Cole.

Dogpatch Biofuels offers B100 every day from 7:00am - 7:00pm, 7 days a week at 765 Pennsylvania Avenue in San Francisco.