UPDATE Friday, July 15, 2022:

On Friday morning, the Florida Department of Agriculture told Get The Coast that the issue identified by the lab was that there was sediment in the fuel.

“We sample and test for fuel quality but do not perform testing to determine the makeup of the sediment,” said Erin Moffet, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture. “We only order the tank/fuel cleaned, determining the source of the contamination will be up to the business.”

Moffet added that FDACS has not made any connection that indicates that this is a supply issue, meaning multiple stations in the area with sediment contamination. She said they also monitor and test the fuel at the ports of entry to identify bulk fuel contamination before it reaches local stations.

As of Friday morning, FDACS is only aware of one consumer that was affected.

“Fuel purchased previous to this may have contained sediment, but not to the extent that it affected vehicles,” wrote Moffet in an email. “Many issues can affect the amount of sediment making it to the pump such as the volume through a specific pump, the filter efficiency of the specific pump, and the timing of the last delivery which agitates the sediment in the bottom of the tank. That being said, we advise any consumer experiencing issues with fuel from this station to file a complaint with the department.”

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the Florida Department of Agriculture issued a stop sale at the Sam’s Club gas station on Beal Parkway in Fort Walton Beach.

• The Florida Department of Agriculture says it is because the “fuel was found to be substandard,” which is a violation of state law.

According to the Florida Statue, it is unlawful to sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any petroleum fuel which fails to meet any standard adopted by rule of the department. Here’s what the statute reads:

• “The substandard product shall be placed under a stop-sale order by the department and the measuring devices and storage tanks of said product shall be sealed by the department to prohibit sale of said product.”
• “If the product is made to conform to standard or removed from the premises in a manner approved by the department, the department shall issue a release order.”

Per documents from the FDACS, 11,747 gallons of fuel was placed on the stop sale order for containing “water, sediment, and/or suspended matter.”

The stop sale will remain in place until the issue is resolved, which is dependent upon how quickly the facility can rectify the problem, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Conditions for release of the stop sale include:

• Removal of substandard product.
• Deliver new product.
• Flush all hoses.
• Provide documentation showing gallons removed, gallons delivered, and gallons flushed.
• Call Bureau of Standards for re-inspection.

On Thursday afternoon, a crew from SPATCO Energy Solutions were on-site doing repair work on a pump, according to a Sam’s Club employee.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture says that if you have gotten substandard gas from this location, they recommend the following:

• File a complaint at 1-800-HELP-FLA
• Contact the station owner and file a complaint
• Contact your mechanic to minimize possible engine damage