POMEROY — Meigs County Commissioners have agreed to work with Rural Action of Trimble and other organizations to develop a “biofuels corridor” between Columbus and the Ohio River.

Robin Kinney, a volunteer with Rural Action, met with commissioners Thursday to discuss the non-profit organization’s efforts, along with Hocking College and Clean Fuels Ohio, to develop the corridor and promote the use of biofuels in school buses and other vehicles, and its availability through retail outlets along U.S. 33 in Fairfield, Hocking, Athens and Meigs counties.

Biofuels are derived in southern Ohio from soybeans, blended with petroleum diesel, usually at a 20 percent biofuel/80 percent diesel blend, called B20. Use of the fuel is appropriate in all late-model diesel engines, and has several advantages, including better engine lubrication, a local market for Ohio soybeans, and a reduction in dependence on foreign oil, Kinney said.

Biodiesel fuel is now produced in Logan and Lancaster, and other plants in Ohio.

The state is now offering grant funds to set up biodiesel fueling stations at retail locations and to cover the cost difference between standard diesel and biofuel for school districts which choose to make the switch.

According to Kinney, the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 10, based in Marietta, is now the only public agency in the four counties using biofuels in its vehicles. There are no retail outlets for the fuel on the U.S. 33 corridor between Columbus and Meigs County on the Ohio River, but Rural Action’s proposal includes establishing such outlets.

Kinney said one Meigs County fueling station has already expressed an interest, but does not now have access to a public water system, which would be required.

Commissioners Thursday expressed interest in working on the project, and Commissioner Mick Davenport said he would make plans to attend a workshop about the proposal on Oct. 23 at Hocking College Energy Institute, Logan.

Rural Action addresses economic, social and environmental issues in Appalachian Ohio. The three agencies leading the biofuel corridor initiative hope to establish at least six retail outlets for the fuel, and the buses of at least three public school districts using the fuel along the four-county route, making it possible to travel from Columbus to the Ohio River using only biodiesel.