(a) The Director shall:

(1) Take samples of automotive fuel wherever it is offered for sale or use in the District of Columbia;

(2) Inspect and test on at least an annual basis and on a random, unannounced basis the octane levels of the gasoline dispensed at each gasoline pump;

(3) Maintain records of all inspections;

(4) If determined to be necessary, at the Director’s discretion, enter into contractual agreements with qualified laboratories as a cost-saving measure for the purpose of analyzing automotive fuel samples if the octane level of the automotive fuel is questioned; and

(5) Issue rules for the enforcement and administration of this subchapter, which may include the adoption by reference of applicable regulations issued by the Federal Trade Commission governing the certification, disclosure, posting, and labeling of automotive fuel.

(b) No automotive fuel may be sold or offered for sale unless approved by the Director.

(c) The Director may conduct investigations to determine compliance with this subchapter.

(d) If the Director determines that an automotive fuel sample does not conform with the standards set out by this subchapter or rules issued pursuant to this subchapter, the Director may take any or all of the following actions to prohibit the sale of the nonconforming automotive fuel or to prohibit the use of the nonconforming dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device:

(1) Seal and mark as sealed the storage tanks from which the sample was drawn or the nonconforming label attached;

(2) Condemn and mark as condemned the dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device from which the sample was obtained or on which the nonconforming label is attached; or

(3) Issue civil infractions under § 2-1801.01 et seq.

(e) If the Director condemns the dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device, the Director may immediately seize and seal, to prevent further sales, any dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device from which automotive fuel is sold or offered for sale in violation of this subchapter or rules issued pursuant to this subchapter.

(f)(1) The Director shall post, in a conspicuous place on the premises where a dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device has been condemned, a notice stating that the condemnation has taken place, the grounds for the condemnation, and a warning that it shall be unlawful to break, mutilate, or destroy any notice, seal, or order issued by the Director regarding the condemnation.

(2) The notice required under this subsection shall remain posted until the Director has reinspected the condemned dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device and determined it to be in compliance.

(g) The Director may assess a civil penalty of not more than:

(1) $5,000 upon a retailer who sells or offers for sale automotive fuel from any dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device that has not been labeled in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter or rules issue pursuant to this subchapter;

(2) $5,000 upon a retailer who allows a person, other than a person designated by the Director, to break, mutilate, or destroy any notice, seal, or order issued by the Director and placed upon a dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device used to deliver or store automotive fuel: and

(3) $20,000 upon a retailer who sells or offers to sell automotive fuel from any dispensing system, storage tank, or other dispensing device that has been condemned by the Director.

(h) In addition to civil penalties assessed pursuant to this subchapter, the Director may suspend a retailer’s business license for up to 90 days after the retailer’s third violation of this subchapter.

(March 3, 1921, 41 Stat. 1223, ch. 118, § 18a [18b]; as added Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 2062, 59 DCR 8025.)

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 added this section.

Section 18a of the Act of Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 118, § 18a, as enacted by the Act of July 7, 1932, 47 Stat. 609, ch. 442, concerning the standard liquid measure for ice cream, was codified as part of § 37-201.19, and later repealed by the Act of Aug. 7, 1964, 78 Stat. 382, Pub. L. 88-405, § 2.