California Court Ruling Affirms Transition to Unleaded Avgas Should Be Done Safely and Smartly

On May 30, the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda denied a motion by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) concerning the sale of avgas in the state. The motion would have forced the sale of an unleaded aviation fuel while limiting the sale of 100LL. In denying the motion, the court affirmed that any transition to a new fuel should address critical safety issues and the importance of stakeholder collaboration while seeking industry consensus.

With the filing, CEH was asking the court to enforce and modify a consent judgment the Center entered into with 26 fixed-based operators (FBOs) in December 2014. The consent judgment requires the FBOs to sell a fuel that has a lower lead content when it becomes both “approved for aviation use” and “commercially available.”

In justifying its denial of CEH’s motions, the Superior Court of California found that, to date, no fuel meets the parameters under the terms of the original agreement. The court also denied CEH’s request to modify the consent judgment to reduce the maximum lead level of fuels being sold, from 0.56 grams per liter to 0.013 grams per liter, which would have effectively banned the sale of 100LL in the state.

The court’s denial does not preclude CEH from raising the issue again in the future.