A8 | NEWS

THE EDMOND SUN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014

2014 THE EDMOND SUN
BY VAN MITCHELL
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Oklahoma Secretary of
Energy and Environment
Michael Teague said the
state is leading the way in
converting its fleet of
vehicles to run on com-
pressed natural gas.
And, he adds, the state
is working to get federal
officials engaged in mov-
ing its fleet of vehicles in
Oklahoma to use CNG.
Teague made those
statements Tuesday dur-
ing a visit to Champion
CNG, 13915 N. Harvey
Ave. in Edmond. The visit
also coincided with Earth
Day.
The push from the
governor is as you pur-
chase new vehicles it
should be CNG, Teague
said. ODOT jumped way
out front on it. They have
done a really good job of
pushing it. Last time I
checked it was just under
400 vehicles in the state
fleet and ODOT has 160 of
them. What are missing
are the federal fleets. We
are working on it with the
White House right now.
Teague said Oklahoma
Gov. Mary Fallin has been
a big proponent of CNG
vehicles.
In 2011, Fallin and
Colorado Gov. John
Hickenlooper joined 14
other states to sign a
multi-state Memorandum
of Understanding com-
mitting to the purchase of
NGVs for each states fleet
and encouraging the
development of more
functional and affordable
CNG vehicles.
As a result of the effort,
car manufacturers are
offering states lower cost
NGVs and more model
types including the recent
introduction of half-ton
trucks and mid-sized
sedans that run on CNG.
According to the
Alternative Fuels Data
Center, only California
and New York rank ahead
of Oklahoma in the num-
ber of CNG fueling sta-
tions.
Teague said Oklahoma
still has an uphill battle in
providing enough CNG
filling station infrastruc-
tures in rural areas.
He gave the example of
Oklahoma Department of
Transportation officials
working on a project in
Antlers but cant use their
CNG vehicles in that area
because there are no CNG
filling stations nearby.
They (ODOT) have a
huge maintenance team
that is down in Antlers
and there are no CNG
trucks down there
because they have no
place to fill them up,
Teague said.
Brad Swartout, business
partner with Champion
CNG, told Teague that
businesses like Champion
need help from the state
to help regulate the CNG
industry.
He cited the examples
of people offering dis-
count items on websites
like Craigslist that dont
meet industry safety
requirements.
Teague said a bill
recently was sent to Fallin
by Rep. Leslie Osborne, R-
Mustang, and Sen. Ron
Justice, R-Chickasha,
which will allow the
Oklahoma Department of
Labor to regulate the CNG
industry.
The Legislature recently
approved House Bill 3297,
which would consolidate
the inspection and regula-
tion of natural gas fueling
stations at the
Department of Labor.
The bill allows the DOL
to regulate compressed
natural gas fueling sta-
tions instead of the
Corporation Commission.
It transfers the duties and
enforcement of the
Alternative Fuels
Technician Certification
Act to the Department of
Labor.
We are trying to make
sure we are doing every-
thing right, Swartout
said. The state can help
police our industry and
keep us legit. There needs
to be enforcement with
everybody involved.
Kyle Bengs, managing
partner with Champion
CNG, told Teague that the
Edmond company mar-
kets to primarily fleet
vehicles, but also does
private vehicles as well.
We dont believe it
(conversion) is for every-
one because of the cost,
Bengs said. We can do a
cost analysis to see if it is
right for them. It has to
make sense to them
because it is an invest-
ment.
Bengs said he was
pleased to have Teague
visit to see what
Champion CNG offers.
I think it is fantastic,
Bengs said. It means a lot
to have him because he is
interested in natural gas
and what we do here.
Energy secretary touts CNG fleet conversion
VAN MITCHELL | SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Secretary of Energy and Environment Michael Teague, left, looks over a CNG conversion pickup at Champion CNG
in Edmond Tuesday afternoon. Also pictured center is Craig Sundstrom, Deputy (Oklahoma) Secretary of Energy
and Craig Oaks, shop manager.