MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The county’s operational services department intends to start using marked diesel in off-road equipment in an effort to save on fuel costs.
Mountain View County council made a motion during last week's meeting recommending the department apply for registration in the province’s Tax-Exempt Fuel User Program.
Marked fuel is diesel or gasoline coloured to a concentration of 14 parts per million of red dye that is partially tax exempt to eligible consumers through the program.
The provincial tax charged on so-called purple fuel is four cents a litre compared to 13 cents a litre for clear.
“The provincial legislations does state that as a government entity, the county would qualify to apply for the fuel tax exemption program for use in our unlicensed fleet,” county employee Jessica Hammer told council during the Aug. 10 presentation.
Equipment such as graders and loaders could run on the marked fuel while anything requiring a licence plate cannot.
Based on actual purchases from gas stations in 2021, Hammer estimated Mountain View County could potentially save approximately $7,000 in a year.
She acknowledged in her report that while the provincial tax has been temporarily removed from all fuel purchases since April 1 to offer relief in the current economy, “this is not a permanent adjustment and the tax is expected to return.”
The county’s director of operational services, Ryan Morrison, said the idea of looking into the program was broached in the spring when the county brought in fuel subsidies for gravel crushing and gravel hauling.
In her report to council, Hammer said the county has applied for program registration in the past, but discontinued as other options were available.
“It would have been around 2015, 2016 that a similar report to this was done up. And at that time it was decided by council and staff not to renew the application as ag was using the bio-diesel purchased from Olds College. Once that ran out they started using bulk fuel from the Didsbury shop,” Hammer told council.
She noted that the operational services department wouldn’t buy more bulk tanks for the marked fuel at county shops as that cost would far exceed the potential tax savings.
Instead, she said county equipment operators have pickup trucks with fuel tanks already in the box and would be asked to simply start filling the slip tanks with marked diesel for their equipment when they fill their pickup trucks with clear.
“We don’t want to change the way they’re operating and the gas stations that they are filling up at. We don’t want them travelling farther and using more fuel for nine cents savings. But we would ask them to continue going to the places they’re going. And then if available, get it,” said Hammer.
Council’s motion specifically mentioned that upon successful registration in the Tax-Exempt Fuel User Program, operational services purchase dyed fuel from private vendors for use in unlicensed equipment.
