San Francisco has seen its share of biodiesel-related initiatives over the years. In 2007, the city implemented a B20 mandate for its city fleet. That same year, it launched a successful waste collection system and there’s talk of a production facility coming into town spearheaded by waste grease behemoth Darling International. Today, the city’s Biodiesel Access Task Force is proposing a citywide B5 mandate.

Comprised largely of local biodiesel advocates and executives, the task force last discussed the idea in December, but it has since sunset, according to task force member Ben Jordan. When it reconvenes, Jordan says the task force will reassemble under a new name and reintroduce the idea, which will likely be modeled after a similar program currently employed in Portland.

“We’re in the information-gathering phase right now,” he says. “We’ve heard a lot of good things come from Portland that seems to be going well, such as increased biodiesel use from producers with no impact on operations. We want to make sure there’s a regionality aspect to the sourcing of the fuel and find out how Portland is successful in reporting requirements.”

Eric Smith, task force vice president and co-chairman, tells Biodiesel Magazine that, when the task force reconvenes, it plans to discuss several state and federal regulatory issues such as availability, fuel quality, education of industry stakeholders, with the topic of addressing underground storage requirements as being the top priority.

“Once we can get through that hurdle, the flood gates might open,” Smith says.