Commissioners gathering data to show how it's hurting gas mileage, expenses

By AnneMarie Knepper

Albany Democrat-Herald

Linn County vehicles are not getting the same mileage they used to, and officials believe ethanol-blended gasoline is to blame.

Roger Nyquist, chairman of the county commissioners, said Tuesday that anecdotal information from county workers and citizens points to a 5 percent to 20 percent loss in mileage per gallon since adopting E10 - gasoline that contains 10 percent ethanol.

In 2007 the Oregon House passed a bill calling for all Oregon fuel sellers to distribute the blended gasoline by September of that year.

"I observed that although we were buying vehicles that were supposed to get better mileage our fuel consumption has actually gone up," Nyquist said at the board's meeting Tuesday.

Commissioner John Lindsey said he keeps a mileage log and has found his personal vehicle gets 11.7 percent less miles to the gallon than it did with non-ethanol blended fuel.

Nyquist said he is interested to see if citizens have kept similar logs. He would like to use their findings in a summary to be included in a presentation to the Oregon Legislature, with the hope the bill will be overturned.

In the meantime, the county is collecting information at its fueling station, which also serves the city of Albany and the school district.

"Between those three organizations we ought to be able to get some good data on what is actually happening," Nyquist said.

He figures if the county is getting 10 percent less fuel economy than before, that represents a loss of about $100,000 a year.

Though the use of E10 gas is only required for highway vehicles, Commissioner Cliff Wooten noted it is incompatible with other engine types, such as those in some boats and planes. Many of those users fill their tanks at gas stations, not realizing E10 could damage their vehicle.

Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, who was at the courthouse Tuesday on other business, told the commissioners he has received several calls and e-mails voicing the same concerns.

He advised them to compose a letter to the Legislature.

"It ought to be something at the very least that the Legislature revisits," Nyquist said. "This is about money out of people's pockets."