Towns of Rockland County, NY

Joint Statement from County Executive Ed Day and Consumer Protection Director Jim Elcik

By now we have all seen the scenes on TV and social media from the southeast of our country of cars lined up to purchase gasoline while prices rise exponentially. While small increases to the price of gas during a time of emergency or low supply are expected we will not allow any business to take advantage of Rockland residents. Thankfully, we have not received any local reports of issues and have a great deal of faith in our business owners.

But we urge residents to report any gas station that has suspiciously high prices as we will not tolerate price gouging. You can make a report by calling 845-364-3901 or emailing CPLCAL@co.rockland.ny.us. Inspectors from the Office of Consumer Protection will also be patrolling the county to ensure residents are treated fairly.

To be clear, there is no shortage of fuel in our country but due to the Colonial Pipeline hack there has been difficulty moving fuel from refineries to gas stations. But this is a temporary issue which we expect to see corrected shortly.

Consumers are also reminded to only store gasoline in containers approved for fuel. Plastic bags, tupperware, plastic bottles and storage totes should not be filled with gasoline. Please follow the gas container manufacturer instructions for storing and transporting gasoline and when using a gas container, never pour gasoline over or near an open flame.