Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh introduced a bill Tuesday to prohibit gas distributors from owning and operating retail gas stations in the District.
The same law was passed in 2004, but about four years ago Cheh successfully pushed for its repeal. On Tuesday she said that was a “mistake.” If it’s passed again, distributors who own gas stations will have two years to get out of the business.
The bill targets Eyob “Joe” Mamo, whose Springfield-based company Capitol Petroleum owns 45 gas stations in D.C., or about half the city’s total. He also owns a DAG Petroleum, which plays the role of middleman between oil refiners and service stations. Last week, D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan announced he has launched an antitrust investigation into the relationship between DAG, Capitol Petroleum and the individual stations that Mamo said in a recent statement are franchised and operate independently.
