The City of Thunder Bay's diesel fuel pump at Marina Park has been re-opened after it was temporarily shut down over selling the wrong kind of fuel last week.
Cory Halvorsen, the city's manager of parks and open spaces, said the pump was closed down on Thursday after a Ministry of Finance inspector revealed it was dispensing coloured diesel.
Coloured diesel — so named because it gets dyed red — is exempt from Ontario fuel taxes. It's not permitted for use in any recreational watercraft, or any vehicle that's licensed to drive on Ontario roadways. Fines and other penalties are possible for anyone found improperly using, storing, labelling or handling coloured diesel.
'Educational inspection'
"It was an educational inspection that took place, so no orders or fines were issued," Halvorsen said. "We were informed that the type of fuel that would be appropriate for that site for the recreational boaters would be the clear fuel, versus the coloured fuel."
Halvorsen said the coloured diesel was removed Monday, and the pump — which now dispenses clear fuel — was reopened.
He said he's looking into how long the coloured fuel was being sold at the pump, and why it was put in the pump's tank in the first place.
The Marina Park pumps are located on a dock near the boat launches, and are used by boat operators to fill their vessels' tanks. Halvorsen said the bulk of the purchases are made by recreational boaters, but some commercial vessels do make use of the tanks, too.
A Ministry of Finance spokesman declined to comment on the matter when reached on Monday, saying the ministry doesn't discuss active inspections or investigative policy.