CAMP PENDLETON, CA — At Camp Pendleton, the semis that haul the Marines’ 70-ton M-1 tanks have been running on B-20, a mix of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel, for more than two years, according to the Web site www.newenergyreport.org/. While the military is not running biodiesel in tanks or other equipment that could get sent into battle zones, the use of the alternative fuel is growing rapidly at bases across the United States. This year, Camp Pendleton and other nearby bases expect to use more than 1 million gallons of the fuel. The entire military will use more than 6 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2005, while the Navy and Marine Corps use nearly 2 billion gallons of diesel a year. “We’ve been told we’re the No. 1 user of biodiesel in the U.S.,” said Gary Funk, the fleet manager for Marine Corps vehicles on Camp Pendleton, as quotes on www.newenergyreport.org. Earlier this year, the Department of the Navy ordered all Navy and Marine installations in the United States to begin using biodiesel when possible. The main advantage of using biodiesel over petroleum diesel, according to military officials, is that it is less damaging to the environment while still delivering equal performance levels and gas mileage. The new fuel is also helping the military meet a presidential mandate to federal agencies, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which requires the government agencies to begin using alternative-fuel vehicles.