At least four vehicles in Butler County stalled out Wednesday after filling up with bad gasoline. County Auditor Roger Reynolds says the problem was traced to water seeping into an underground fuel tank. He says beyond that, overall fuel quality isn't getting regularly tested anywhere in Ohio.
Reynolds says the state agriculture department is supposed to do it but cites a lack of funding. He says the County Auditors Association of Ohio wants legislators to either give them the task, or give the Ag Department the money. "We're already checking for quantity, give us the authority to go out and check for quality."
Reynolds says Ohio is one of only three states where gas quality isn't tested.
"If there's some bad gas floating around, and Ohio is the one state that doesn't test for quality and surrounding states do test, it's only logical the bad gas is going to end up in the state of Ohio," Reynolds says.
He says county auditors could do the job without costing the state any money. "It costs an office such as mine about $15,000 for the testing device. We already have the manpower to do it."
Reynolds says auditors are not asking for any funds from the state. He says the association has backed similar measures before, and he's hopeful new legislators this year will be more receptive.
