Dave Wetzel

Dave Wetzel of Decatur converted his 1986 Volkswagen Golf to run primarily on recycled vegetable oil, which he picks up weekly from a dining facility that uses it for frying food.  But in January 2007 Wetzel and his wife Eileen, were visited by the Illinois Department of Revenue and told that they were required to have a license for their �veggie mobile� and that they would also need to pay a motor fuel tax. If Wetzel failed to comply with the Illinois Department of Revenue�s regulations he was told that he would need to post a $2,500 bond and was threatened with felony charges. 

�It�s funny how at the beginning of the year I was almost a felon, and by the end of the year I am being honored as a hero,� said Wetzel at the environmental hero awards ceremony in Chicago on December 27, 2007.

After his encounter with the Illinois Department of Revenue, Wetzel contacted State Sen. Frank Watson (R-Greenville) to share his story and see if the law could be amended. Senator Watson and the Wetzel�s were instrumental in winning passage of SB 267, which amends the motor fuel tax law to curtail government interference regarding alternative fuels, such as vegetable oil.  The amended tax law took effect August 17, 2007.