A community group in Northern Colorado is raising concerns about a bill advancing in Congress that would require general aviation airports to keep selling leaded fuel indefinitely.
Most small, general aviation aircraft continue to use leaded gasoline. The federal government has a goal to transition away from it by 2030.
But some residents living near airports want the leaded fuel gone sooner because of health concerns. And some elected officials, including some in Washington state,
comes as some residents in Superior and other cities along Colorado鈥檚 Front Range have told their elected officials their children are at risk from airborne lead pollution as traffic revs up at general aviation airports.
In 2021,
Santa Clara County banned the sale of leaded gas at the airport following the study, and began only offering unleaded fuel.
But many in the aviation industry say the unleaded fuel that was approved last year by the Federal Aviation Administration isn鈥檛 readily available yet.
could put pilots at risk of crashing if they fuel up with the wrong kind.
Bri Lehman, of Lafayette, is a member of the, a Colorado organization calling for changes at general aviation airports, including an end to the use of leaded fuel because of health concerns.
Lehman said Wednesday Congress shouldn鈥檛 punish any airports for taking the step to only sell unleaded fuel.
Instead, she thinks the government should do more to speed up the transition to unleaded fuel.
鈥淭he majority of the (lead) exposure in America can now be attributed to aviation sources,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o for them to be so short-sighted, to try to guarantee, you know, another decade of profits at the expense of the health of probably millions of people is almost unbelievable to me.鈥�
Lehman said she has a meeting scheduled with U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper鈥檚 staff on Friday to encourage the senator to try and amend the bill when it鈥檚 heard by the Senate Transportation Committee.
The leaded fuel mandate is included in a broader bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, he offered eight amendments to the bill all aiming to help residents address noise and pollution from nearby airports.
One amendment would have 鈥減romoted collaboration between the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA to develop innovative technologies to increase the use of unleaded aviation fuel and reduce aircraft noise.鈥�
But Neguse said that proposal and all but one of his others were rejected by the Republican-controlled Rules Committee.
鈥淣o one should have to suffer the consequences of undue noise or environmental pollution, which is why I am disappointed that most of these amendments were improperly ruled out of order by House Republicans,鈥� Neguse said in a statement.
Colorado鈥檚 airports have responded to concerns about lead pollution differently.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport near Broomfield hasn鈥檛 yet.
Airport Director Paul Anslow told KUNC in March he鈥檚 skeptical of claims that general aviation aircraft are causing lead pollution. He suggested lead being detected at homes near the airport could be coming from somewhere else.
鈥淚t's not proven that (the lead) is coming from the planes,鈥� he said during a tour of the airport for elected officials. 鈥淲e drove leaded cars from the 1920s until the 1970s. That lead doesn't go away."
He added he doesn鈥檛 have the power to switch to unleaded fuel under FAA regulations.
Superior鈥檚 town board sent the airport a letter this spring calling on it to phase out leaded fuel sales as quickly as possible.
鈥淩emoving the largest lead air pollution source is essential to the health and well-being of our community,鈥� the trustees wrote.
Jefferson County, which operates the airport, responded that they support the transition to unleaded. But they didn鈥檛 offer a specific timeline.
鈥淭he last remaining hurdle towards the complete transition to unleaded avgas is the aviation and petroleum industries鈥� ability to scale the production of these alternative fuels to achieve a market-ready and price competitive supply,鈥� county officials wrote.
