Bill Text: NJ S2268 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: The "Bio-based Heating Oil Act."
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-07-29 - Reported from Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading [S2268 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S2268-Amended.html
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Van Drew, Addiego, A.R.Bucco and Oroho
SYNOPSIS
The "Bio-based Heating Oil Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on July 29, 2013, with amendments.
An Act concerning bio-based heating oil and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Bio-based Heating Oil Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Bio-based heating oil" means a fuel comprised of biodiesel blended with heating oil to be used as fuel for combustion in a heating system.
"Biodiesel" means a fuel comprised of the mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oil or animal fats, including, but not limited to, designated B100, that meets the requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by ASTM International, under ASTM D6751 specifications, 1[and] or1 subsequent revisions of those specifications.
"Heating oil" means heating fuel or fuel oil, to be used as fuel for combustion in a heating system, that meets the specifications of ASTM International, designation 1[D396-09a] D396-13, a subsequent revision of those specifications1, or other specifications as determined by the appropriate federal or State agencies.
3. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, and in accordance with the compliance schedule established in this subsection, all heating oil sold in the State for residential, commercial, or industrial uses, or for hot water heating, shall be bio-based heating oil and shall contain at a minimum the percentage of biodiesel specified in this subsection, unless such requirement has been suspended by the 1[Governor] Commissioner of Environmental Protection1 pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The compliance schedule shall be as follows:
1[(1) from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 ------ 3%
(2) July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 ------ 4%
(3) July 1, 2014 and thereafter ------ 5%]
(1) from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 ------ 3%;
(2) July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 ------ 4%;
(3) July 1, 2016 and thereafter ------ 5%, or such other percentage established by ASTM International specifications as the maximum allowable percentage of biodiesel which may be contained in heating oil, whichever is higher1.
b. The 1[Governor, by Executive Order,] commissioner1 may temporarily suspend at any time the implementation and enforcement of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection a. of this section, if the 1[Governor, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection,] commissioner1 determines that meeting the compliance schedule established in subsection a. of this section is not feasible because:
(1) a sufficient amount of biodiesel to produce bio-based heating oil is not commercially available and cannot be made commercially available, to meet the anticipated demand within the State within the prescribed schedule 1[, as determined by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection]1; or
(2) meeting the requirements prescribed in subsection a. of this section would result in undue financial hardship to consumers.
c. Upon determining that a sufficient supply of biodiesel to produce bio-based heating oil can be made commercially available to meet the anticipated demand within the State, the 1[Governor] commissioner1 shall rescind a suspension imposed pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and shall establish a compliance date for bio-based heating oil to contain the appropriate percentage of biodiesel. No compliance date established pursuant to this subsection may be sooner than 180 days after the date on which sufficient supplies of the biodiesel become commercially available to meet the anticipated demand within the State.
d. (1) In order to meet the percentage requirements established in subsection a. of this section, heating oil sold for residential, commercial, or industrial use, or for hot water heating, within the State shall be blended with biodiesel to produce bio-based heating oil at the wholesale point of distribution.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as precluding any person from blending heating oil with biodiesel to produce bio-based heating oil at other than the wholesale point of distribution for use by that person or any other person.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
