Last year, the FAA approved the first zero-lead fuel which could be used in all existing piston-driven propeller aircraft. As a result, local governments where the unleaded fuel have started proposing bans on the sale of leaded aviation gas:
Santa Clara County officials instituted what may be the nation’s first ban on leaded fuel at its two general aviation airports.
House Republicans and Senate Democrats have an important difference between their versions of the FAA reauthorization bill:
- The House version of the bill would require airports that receive federal grants to continue selling the same fuels they sold in 2018 in perpetuity.
- The Senate version would require these airports to continue selling the same fuels they sold in 2022, with a sunset date of 2030 or whenever unleaded fuels are “widely available.”
There isn’t any real reason to do this — the refiners are perfectly capable of delivering an unleaded fuel with a few years warning that they’ll need to. The only benefit seems to be enabling Tetraethyl lead supplier to turn a few extra years of profit out of poisoning kids.
The conference committee negotiating the final version of the FAA reauthorization needs to stick with 2030 as a phase-out date for leaded aviation fuel.