Two Georgia travel plazas in St. Marys are back open after being fined $500,000 by the Department of Agriculture. Tests by the agency showed gas at the Cisco Plazas in St. Marys and Kingsland was being shorted, some by about a pint per gallon.
The pumps were locked for almost two weeks but have been calibrated and approved. The inspectors will continue to monitor the pumps closely. If there are no more violations, the fine for Global Energy USA, LLC, will be cut in half.
According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, they are continuing the investigation into possible violations by the stations previous owners.
A lawyer for the Cisco Plazas told the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer that vandalism to gas pumps was the reason why fuel customers were shorted gasoline. Attorney Hal Moroz says new owners took over the two gas stations in January and that he did not know how vandals could have altered the pumps at both 24-hour gas stations.
Cisco said it has conducted its own investigation and is taking steps to ensure the pumps’ accuracy going forward, such as hiring an independent contractor to monitor the pumps for accuracy.