Comments on: Call To Action, Canceled.

By: Ryan Lenhart

Ryan Lenhart — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:43:20 +0000

I know of Mr. Gero aswell. I’ve recently purchased a unit from NWR and am completly satisfied to date from start up to shut down he’s not only answered calls at all hours but hes really been able to explain all aspects. It’s one of the purchases in life that will come without buyers remorse. Thanks Ryan L.

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:19:30 +0000

Darien,
I know Martin Gero and know him to be a smart, creative, and dedicated individual. I cannot speak to whether or not you should buy a processor from him but i can say, that if you do, I am sure you will not have to worry about him standing behind his product.

Good Luck.

By: James Towner

James Towner — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:59:28 +0000

I hope they can get up and going as soon as possible also. Last I heard they are moving to Phoenix, but haven’t heard any news in a week or so. I really can’t wait to start using their fuel.

By: Darien

Darien — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:49:29 +0000

I hope you guys can resolve this issue as soon as posible. do any of you know anything about a local biodiesel company called NWR Biodiesel. I have been in contact with a fellow named Martin Gero. Im intrested in purchasing a procesor he advertised on Ebay. Can anyone say anything about NWR biodiesel
(No War Requierd Biodiesel)
thanks.

By: James Towner

James Towner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:30:14 +0000

Temple Stark @ PolState.com just posted a article about this today. Check it out at: http://polstate.com/?p=5385

By: James Towner

James Towner — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:23:57 +0000

Looks like Gilbert would happily allow AZ Biodiesel to operate in their City. Gilbert and Chandler are almost identical cities.

> From: “Kelly Patton”
> Date: April 17, 2008 12:24:45 PM PDT
> To:
> Cc:
> Subject: RE: info from Phoenix on biodiesel zoning decision
>
> Errol,
>
> Thank you for the information and further clarification of your organization and its needs. I have confirmed with our zoning administrator that based on the criteria discussed and what was outlined in the letter you sent over that you would be able to go into a light industrial or general industrial zoning within the Gilbert community without the need for an additional use permit.
>
> Based on this information I took the liberty of identifying a few potential sites that would fit your requirements for approx. 5,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space. Please see attached document. We would also be willing to work with your organization to explore potential cost-saving measures such as an expedited tenant improvement process in order to get you up-and-running as quickly as possible.
>
> Errol, please let me know if I can provide any additional information. I will be out of the office all day Friday, returning Monday. However, if you have an immediate need, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my office, 480.503.6873 or cell XXX.XXX.XXXX.
>
> Regards,
> Kelly
>
> Kelly A. Patton | Business Development Specialist
> Town of Gilbert | P 480.503.6873
>
> http://www.gilbertaz.gov | Gilbert, Arizona – Realizing Opportunity

By: James Towner

James Towner — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:45:46 +0000

Phoenix Business Journal published a indepth story about AZ Biodiesel recently. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/

By: James Towner

James Towner — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:23:20 +0000

From Dan Rees at AZ Biodiesel:
“We had a meeting with the fire Marshall in December and he gave us a list of thing we needed to do while building our facility to make sure we would be compliant. They also said we would need to go to planning and zoning to tell them we were going to increase the size of our operation.

We did all of the items given by the fire Marshall within the first few months and they never returned to inspect.

We merged with another company right before the first of the year which enabled us to add even more equipment and still were not in a position to be producing biodiesel yet as we are still waiting for additional substantial equpiment.

We were under the assumption that the fire Marshall meant we needed to tell planning and zoning once we were fire compliant as we didn’t think planning would make a decision with us having final fire approval.

It never occurred to us that planning would have any issues as we know what other businesses they allow near us (such as photomasking, which also was the prior tenant in our building).

We are allowed the Group 2 Hazmat permit in our other business and did not need to change that, nor increase any amount of hazardous chemical already allowed.

We only wanted to increase the amount of cooking oil!
A 3B non-flamable chemical according to the fire Marshall which doesn’t require any permits as long as we stay within the fire code allowable limits.

The first notice we received since November was a hazmat fire inspector (though we have had other fire inspections with no issues, the fire guys come by frequently wanting to know when they can get some biodiesel) who deliver us a letter of noncompliance and refused to
Inspect when he was told we had already done everything they requested.”

By: James Towner

James Towner — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:41:07 +0000

I wish Doug would have responded to my email over a week ago, so it’s good to see he is responding now. I believe that as far as AZ Biodiesel knew they were up to code and had everything they needed. They had support from the fire department, but the fire marshal had to order the cease because Planning had the final say.

By: James Towner

James Towner — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:23:37 +0000

Here’s Doug Ballard’s response:
“From:
Date: Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: AZ Biodiesel – Please reconsider
To: xxxxxx
Cc: Mayor&Council@chandleraz.gov, Richard.Mulligan@chandleraz.gov

Dear xxxxxx,

The situation relative to Az Biodiesel is that they’re located in a light industrial zone, immediately adjacent to single family residential. The use may very well be allowed, but it needs to go through a Use Permit process.

Unfortunately, the business was established without zoning approval. They were advised by the City’s Fire Marshall back in December that they were operating w/o permits, had hazardous material storage and containment issues, had done electrical work and construction w/o permits. Also, unfortunately, the business failed to follow up with any of the recommendations/requirement they were advised of back in December. Subsequently, because of lack of action, the Fire Marshall issued a cease and desist order, and the zoning administrator issued a violation notice.

In terms of bio-diesel in general, we are certainly supportive of the efforts, and we’re sure that there are appropriate locations in Chandler for these type of uses. This does not mean, however, that code and safety requirements can be ignored. Compatibility with surrounding land uses, especially adjacent single family residential are some of the factors we look at when reviewing a Use Permit application.

Should you have specific questions about site and zoning requirements, we’d be happy to discuss these with you in greater detail. Please contact Jeff Kurtz, Assistant Planning and Development Director at 480-782-3054.”