Avgas Battle Resurfaces with New Lawsuit

Bethany Whitfield

Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 10:21 PM ET

Verified

** Despite the recent lawsuit, industry leaders
say avgas will remain available.**

Key Takeaways:

Friends of the Earth has filed a lawsuit against the EPA, alleging the agency has failed to properly respond to a 2006 petition to designate leaded avgas as a public health danger and regulate it under the Clean Air Act.
The environmental group seeks to compel the EPA to move more quickly in establishing regulations to protect public health from lead's toxic effects, potentially through a court-ordered deadline for evaluation.
The General Aviation Avgas Coalition, representing major aviation groups, assures the community that near-term leaded avgas availability is not threatened and points to industry progress, including a 93% reduction in lead emissions over 30 years and efforts to develop unleaded alternatives.

See a mistake? Contact us.

A lawsuit filed last week by the environmental protection group Friends of the Earth is drawing renewed attention to the debate over leaded avgas, prompting a number of aviation industry leaders to speak out in defense of the industry’s progress on the issue.

The suit, filed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleges the EPA has not properly responded to a 2006 petition from Friends of the Earth calling for the designation of leaded avgas as a potential danger to public health and the subsequent regulation of the substance under the Clean Air Act.