FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                  CONTACT:   

Dec. 20, 2006                                                                                                  Gary Miller

                                                                                                                        717-783-1116

 

                                                                                                                        Chris L. Ryder (Ag)

                                                                                                                        717-787-5085

 

Governor Rendell says Pennsylvania to Boost Measurement Device Inspections in Time for Winter Fuel Season

Additional Inspectors Being Added, Complaint Hotline Planned

 

HARRISBURG – Consumers and businesses will be better protected against inaccuracies in devices that weigh and dispense fuel as a result of significant improvements to the state’s inspection processes announced today by Governor Edward G. Rendell.

 

Twenty-two full-time inspectors and staff will be added to the Department of Agriculture’s weights and measures program, and each will be equipped with new laptop computer technology to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the inspection process.

 

“By adding professional inspectors and providing them with the tools they need, we can better confirm the accuracy of gas pumps, heating fuel dispensers and scales, helping to ensure fair commerce across the state,” Governor Rendell said. “The demands on the state’s device inspection staff have greatly increased, and it is vital to the welfare of consumers and businesses that we meet those demands.”

 

State law was changed in 1996 to allow counties to discontinue their own inspection programs and hand those responsibilities to the state. Since the enactment of Act 155, 39 counties have been added to the state’s inspection program. The state is now responsible for inspections in 44 of the 67 counties.

 

All scales, ranging from small-retail to large-capacity truck scales, truck-mounted fuel meters, liquid-petroleum gas meters, retail fuel pumps, and all consumer scanning systems must be inspected annually.    

 

To better serve Pennsylvania’s consumers and businesses, Governor Rendell is taking historic actions that, for the first time, will allow the Department of Agriculture to satisfy the requirements of Act 155:

 

• Adding 22 full-time professional inspectors and staff to ensure all retail gas pumps and home heating fuel trucks are inspected annually. These new staff will supplement the existing workforce and provide continuity in inspections performed to meet the highest level of quality and cost efficiency.
• Equipping all staff with laptop computer technology to accurately and thoroughly record inspection activity and compliance history.
• Providing additional specialized equipment for retail fuel inspection meters.
• Installing a new, statewide, consolidated weights and measures information technology system to improve field inspections, schedule re-inspections and consumer reporting.  This system will also provide the Department of Agriculture an efficient way to share inspection information with county governments. Business owners will also be notified electronically if devices are determined to be out of compliance. In addition, the system will be used to maintain the equipment inventory.
• Implement a statewide consumer complaint e-mail and toll-free phone number, which is expected to be in operation by mid January, to register complaints and allow rapid response to problems. 
• Develop a consumer and retail education and outreach program.
• Provide all inspectors in-service training on the latest calibration techniques and safety procedures.

 

To help implement the changes specific to fuel device inspections, PennDOT and the Department of Revenue are providing motor fuels and motor license funds. 

 

To register a complaint regarding fuel pumps or other weights and measures devices, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us, and click on “Bureaus,” then on “Ride and Measurement Standards.”

 

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The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses.  To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: www.governor.state.pa.us.