In October 2023, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport鈥檚 leaders said they were rapidly moving toward ending the use of leaded aviation fuel in response to growing health concerns in communities near the runway.
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Standing in front of a tanker truck adorned with a large 鈥漸nleaded鈥� sticker on the tarmac of the airport, the airport director at the time announced during a news conference that unleaded fuel sales would begin in the fall of 2024.
Today, the airport has missed that timeline. It has yet to start offering any unleaded fuel, frustrating neighboring residents who have been calling for the transition for years.
Officials now say that the tanker truck the airport purchased for $50,000 and used as the backdrop of their unleaded fuel announcement probably won鈥檛 be used to help usher in that transition after all.
鈥淓very day we wait is another day children in our community are being exposed to something that science tells us is dangerous,鈥� Westminster resident Carolyn Farbman said Wednesday. 鈥淎nd yet, I don鈥檛 see the urgency from RMMA or the Jefferson County Commissioners to fix it. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 frustrating.鈥�
The Environmental Protection Agency declared in 2023 the ongoing use of leaded fuel by smaller, piston-engine aircraft a public health threat. The finding followed a study that determined children living near a California airport had elevated levels of lead in their blood.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan near Broomfield underwent a leadership change in the months after it announced the timeline for the switch to unleaded fuel. The airport鈥檚 new leader said this week the plan is to have the transition begin by the end of July.
Airport Director Erick Dahl, who took over the position in May, told KUNC in an interview Monday the transition is a priority and he wants the airport to be a good neighbor.
鈥淐ertainly today we're trying to figure out the way to expedite this project so it no longer is delayed,鈥� Dahl said. 鈥淵ou know, it's been delayed long enough.鈥�
Dahl said it has taken longer than expected for the airport to secure a fuel tank to store the new unleaded fuel.
鈥淭he delay just has to do with, you know, our own ability to procure that tank as fast as safely as we can,鈥� he said.
He said when the original timeline was announced, the airport anticipated being able to use an existing fuel tank for the transition.
鈥淯nfortunately, we weren't able to do that,鈥� Dahl said. 鈥淎nd so right now, we're looking at a timeline that's pretty locked in. We hope for July 2025. That's our optimistic timeline, where we're thinking about having the tank installed and being operational.鈥�
At a meeting earlier this month, Dahl faced questions about the unleaded fuel delays from Jefferson County Commissioners who oversee the airport. Commissioner Andy Kerr said he posed for a photo in front of the unleaded fuel tanker truck that officials said would help start the transition. Kerr asked Dahl if it was operational.
Dahl said after airport leaders talked with the fixed based operators, the truck was deemed 鈥渋nsufficient鈥� for what they would need to distribute the unleaded fuel.
鈥淲e stepped into something. We didn't quite understand what we were getting ourselves into, and now we're trying to recorrect and reapproach and do it correctly,鈥� Dahl said.
He added the airport was thinking about other uses for the truck.
Farbman, the concerned Westminster resident, is calling on the airport to discontinue the sale of leaded fuel when the unleaded alternative is available.
鈥淚 worry about my kid and his friends,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are the ones going to school and playing in neighborhoods right under these flight paths where aircraft are still using leaded fuel. The EPA鈥檚 endangerment finding made it clear: lead exposure is irreversible, and kids are especially vulnerable. We鈥檙e talking about potential lifelong impacts鈥攍earning disabilities, developmental issues鈥攖hings no parent should have to worry about, but here we are.鈥�
A community group of concerned residents living near the airport called Save Our Skies to Jefferson County commissioners calling on them to formally adopt a plan to end the use of leaded fuel.
The group is also asking the airport to find ways to reduce noise and manage traffic in a number of ways.
