Notice of Violation and Enforcement Action & Civil Penalties

If you received a Stop Sale Order for a fuel quality violation from the State of Tennessee, a Notice of Violation and Enforcement Action letter will be sent to your place of business. A civil penalty may also be assessed for this fuel quality violation depending on the severity of the finding and if it is a reoccurrence finding.

The table below shows the levels of civil penalties assessed depending on if the violation type was deemed to be “critical” or “non-critical” in nature.

An example of a critical failure would be having an Antiknock Index (low octane) value greater than or equal to 1.0 from the posted value for gasoline or having a flash point of less than 45°C for diesel.

An example of a non-critical failure would be an Antiknock Index (low octane) value of less than 1.0 from the posted value for gasoline or having a flash point greater than or equal to 45°C for diesel.

Civil Penalties for Fuel Quality Failures Fee Structure Table
Violation Type	Occurrence	Civil Penalty ($)
Critical	First	$500
	Second	$1,000
	Third	$3,000
	Fourth	$7,500
	Fifth	$10,000
Non-Critical	First	Notice of Violation
	Second	$500
	Third	$1,000
	Fourth	$3,000
	Fifth	$5,000
	Sixth	$7,500
	Seventh	$10,000

Repeated fuel quality violations are assessed increasing civil penalties every time a follow-up sample fails. For instance, if your site sells diesel fuel to the public, and during an inspection, we collect a sample that fails flash point, your civil penalty would be $500. If your site notifies the State that you have corrected the problem and are ready to resume sale of the diesel, but we collect another sample that fails again, your civil penalty will be $1,000. This process will continue until the follow-up sample is deemed to be in spec.

It is in your financial interest to make sure that any problems are corrected immediately to ensure that you are not selling any off-spec product and to minimize the chances of a repeated sample failure resulting in higher penalties.