On July 25, 2007 the Portland City Council supported an Ordinance authorizing the City to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the State of Oregon’s Department of Agriculture (ODA) Measurement Standards Division (MSD) to conduct fuel inspections including the testing and sampling of fuel and biodiesel in accordance with the City of Portland’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that went into effect July 1, 2007. The $140,000 agreement goes into effect immediately.

The ODA already oversees fuel testing and quality assurance for motor vehicle fuels in Oregon. As a result of this IGA, ODA will hire one inspector to test and inspect both the retail gas stations in Portland and also Oregon based facilities producing or bringing into the state B100 for use as blend stock. Field testing and also independent laboratory testing will be used to ensure that the fuel sold in the City of Portland meets applicable ASTM standards.

The City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services will handle any violations to the RFS. As the bureau charged with managing the RFS enforcement program, violators could face fines of up to $5,000 for the first violation and up to $10,000 per subsequent violations.