Diesel fuel is supposed to be a light, fluorescent green color.
However, an Acworth gas station’s tainted supply looked more like the used fry oil at a fast-food restaurant — burnt bits and all.
The sullied fuel damaged a customer’s Ford F-250 two weeks ago, prompting him to call state regulators to investigate. It led to the discovery that the diesel fuel had accidentally been watered down and damaged, leading to the gas station losing its pumping privileges.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Cedric Lloyd, deputy director of the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Fuel & Measures Division, told AJC.com that water and other residues somehow got into the fuel storage tank at Lee's Grocery off 3rd Army Road, irreversibly damaging that batch of fuel.
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“Once it fails, they have to lock that grade of fuel down until an inspector comes and the testing lab approves it,” he said.
He doesn’t know how the water got into the station’s storage tank, but he said the recent uptick in rain is a likely culprit. Regardless of the cause, he’s almost certain the gas station’s staff didn’t intentionally damage it to pinch pennies.
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“(The stations) don’t want to have that reputation of selling bad fuel,” Lloyd said. “Once you have that reputation, it’s hard to get it back.”
He added that his division conducts monthly fuel quality tests, inspects other routine samples and will investigate reports of tainted gasoline, but the regulators do not investigate how a batch became ruined. He said that onus is on the individual stations.
Chad Ferguson, the owner of the F-250, told Channel 2 Action News that he could tell something was wrong mere minutes after he pulled out of Lee’s Grocery.
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“It just sounded like metal was hitting metal,” he said.
The following morning, he saw smoke bellowing from his truck’s exhaust pipe, which he recorded on his cellphone. A trip to a mechanic cost him $900 to replace a damaged fuel filter, he told Channel 2.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Ferguson said a follow-up trip to the mechanic revealed the entire fuel system needed to be replaced, which he said would cost him about $10,000.
He’s not thrilled.
“It wasn’t just a small fail. It was atrocious,” Ferguson said.
The gas station’s owner declined to comment to the news station about the incident. Channel 2 reported that the business is responsible for paying the damages, but Ferguson has not heard back from the owner.
Lloyd said investigators pulled a re-sample of the diesel fuel Thursday, but lab results have yet to meet regulations. As a result, the station is unable to sell that grade of fuel until it passes the test.
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