The Minnesota Department of Commerce earlier delayed imposing the blending requirement until January 13, in response to complaints about clogged fuel filters and requests from biodiesel fuel producers and users.
It extended the suspension until February 10 at the request of the Minnesota Biodiesel Council and National Biodiesel Board.
The Commerce Department, which is responsible for interpreting and enforcing petroleum quality laws in Minnesota, said the delay would allow fuel producers and distributors more time to remove out-of-specification biodiesel blends from the distribution system.
It would also allow industry players to implement quality assurance steps to prevent out-of-specification fuel reaching the market in future.
The biodiesel industry, soybean growers, refiners, distributors, retailers and users of the fuel, as well as government departments, would continue to work on quality concerns, the Commerce Department said.
“While there may be multiple reasons for the cold weather fuel problems that have been experienced, some testing has shown that some biodiesel being sold in Minnesota does not conform to required fuel specifications,” the department said in a statement.
Minnesota is the only state in the United States to mandate that diesel fuel sold at all on-highway retail outlets contains 2% biodiesel.
