ODA Gives Positive Report of State’s Gasoline

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is responsible for measuring and verifying gasoline sales throughout the state and said 2016 was mostly problem free.

Steve Harrington of ODA’s Weights and Measures program said gas purchases are often done with blind faith in the retailer.

“You are placing a great deal of trust in the transaction. You are trusting that you are getting what the retailer has represented and selling to you. In this sort of transaction, it’s very valuable to have at least one independent agency looking at quality issues.”

ODA screened nearly 2,000 pumps from about 30,000 companies where they tested the octane rating to verify what is advertised is what the consumer was getting.

The good news, Harrington said, for consumers.

“On average, you go to the gas station, you’ll get good quality fuel. It will be the fuel that you expect to buy and there will be no problems.”

There were 21 issues where an operator was required to pump out fuel, but Harrington said that total is pretty low.