State fuel and pesticide lab under construction

Facility to open in January

By TED SLOAN, Kentucky Agricultural News

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer led dignitaries in breaking ground for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s new motor fuel and pesticide testing laboratory in May in Frankfort.

“With gasoline prices where they are today, it’s more important than ever before that Kentuckians get exactly what they pay for at the pump,” Commissioner Farmer told the guests at the groundbreaking. “This new state-of-the-art facility will enable us to ensure that Kentucky consumers are receiving a quality product.”

The lab will greatly enhance the Department’s ability to test motor fuel for quality and octane level. The KDA tests motor fuel to ensure Kentucky does not become a dumping ground for poor quality fuel. The Department also tests for the presence of MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, a fuel additive that is banned in Kentucky. The facility will have a biofuel testing component that will enable the KDA to serve the Commonwealth’s rapidly growing biofuel industry.

The lab will enable the Department to do a better job of supporting its pesticide regulatory programs, following up on complaints and analyzing pesticide residues in the environment.

“I want to thank the members of the General Assembly on both sides of the aisle who worked with us to make this day a reality,” Commissioner Farmer said. “I also want to thank the professionals in the fuel industry who have stood with us.”

The KDA currently sends motor fuel samples to an out-of-state laboratory for testing. As the cost of the test has increased, the number of samples the Department tests has fallen ten-fold, to fewer than 600 a year. The new lab will have a testing capacity of more than 20,000 samples a year – enough to more than adequately sample motor fuels in Kentucky and offer contract testing services to other agencies and states.

The lab will cost an estimated $1.65 million. The Kentucky General Assembly appropriated the funding in its 2006 session.

Between the cost savings of testing in-house and revenue from service contracts, the lab is expected to pay for itself and become financially self-sufficient in a few years.

Kentucky has more than 3,500 retail motor fuel locations that sold 3.4 billion gallons of fuel in 2005.

The lab is expected to be under roof and ready for equipment installation by October. The target date for the lab to be operational is Jan. 1, 2008.