Lawrence may begin running some of its fleet of vehicles on E85 ethanol in an effort to be recognized as a green community.

“At some point in time, I think we’ll begin using it,” said Steve Stewart, the city’s central garage superintendent. “We’ve been working in that direction, mostly because we want to be an environmentally responsible community.”

The city has 14 vehicles that can run on the E85 fuel, and 11 police cars that will arrive later this year also will be E85-compatible.

Stewart said the city also is considering running biodiesel in its vehicles with diesel engines. Basically any diesel engine can use biodiesel, he said.

Stewart said the main reason the city hasn’t used the alternative fuels is because of the cost of putting in new tanks and pumps. Stewart said that could cost the city $100,000 for each pump and tank system.

Stewart said he is aware of Zarco’s plans to open a retail location selling both E85 and biodiesel. Stewart said the city likely would consider buying from that location rather than installing new tanks and pumps, but he said cost would be a major consideration.

For people looking use E85 in their own vehicles, Stewart offered several suggestions:

l Check the owner’s manual to see whether the vehicle is equipped with a flex fuel engine. If E85 is accidentally put into a standard engine, it likely won’t ruin it, Stewart said, but the vehicle will run poorly.

l Figure the vehicle’s fuel mileage. People should expect a 10 percent to 15 percent decrease in fuel mileage, but E85 prices should be less than regular gasoline. Sometimes the price difference is enough to offset the reduction in mileage; sometimes it is not.

l Be prepared to do a little extra maintenance after the first fill-up with E85. Stewart said E85 likely will remove built-up varnish from fuel tanks and fuel lines on vehicles that have been running on traditional gasoline. He said that may cause a clogged fuel filter in the first week or so after beginning E85 usage. Once that’s fixed, maintenance is much like any other vehicle, he said.

“I really haven’t heard of it creating any problems for engines,” Stewart said.