A multi-agency task force that checked fuel quality on the Navajo Nation found a failure rate that was nearly three times higher than Arizona as a whole.

The inspections collected 217 fuel samples from retail outlets throughout the Navajo Reservation. Nineteen of the samples, or 8.75 percent of the total collected, did not meet Arizona fuel quality standards.

This compares with an overall fuel sampling failure rate of 3 percent in Arizona during FY2007.

The problems included lower-than-advertised octane ratings, low flash points and other performance measures that could affect performance, impact air quality and might even damage engines.

The sampling effort is part of a two-year program, funded by a federal grant. The effort is being conducted by tribal from the Navajo nation, as well as officials from Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to fuel quality, the study will ensure that tribal retail outlets are forwarding fuel tax receipts to the tribal government to finance Navajo transportation needs.

The sampling was conducted using the Zeltex Fuel Analyzers, an automated system that can be used to detect fuel-quality anomalies that can be later confirmed by a formal lab analysis.

The effort is part an ongoing partnership between tribal officials and Arizona’s Department of Weights and Measures. The Department has helped both the Navajo and Hopi tribes obtain fuel-testing equipment and provided training to inspectors from both nations to help them identify fuel-related issues within the sovereign boundaries.

The fuel samples were collected from approximately 98 of the retail outlets selling motor fuel within the Navajo Nation, said Duane Yantorno, Director of the Air & Fuel Quality program for the Arizona Department.

The fuel-sampling data was turned over to tribal officials. Additional fuel samples will be collected on several occasions over the next two years to determine if the testing effort is improving fuel quality compliance, Yantorno said.