EPA Releases Proposed Finding on Leaded AvGas

The aviation community was expecting the announcement and points to progress on unleaded fuel in the market.

Saturday, October 08, 2022 at 09:06 AM ET

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The distribution of unleaded fuel will be initially driven by industry partners to the EAGLE initiative, such as Avfuel. [Photo: Julie Boatman]

Key Takeaways:

The EPA released a "Proposed Endangerment Finding" on lead emissions from aircraft using leaded fuel, identifying it as a dominant remaining source of airborne lead and citing health concerns, particularly for children.
The general aviation (GA) community expected this finding and reaffirmed its commitment to a safe, deliberate transition away from 100LL, warning against any ban before widely available unleaded alternatives.
Significant progress is being made on unleaded aviation fuel alternatives, with GAMI's G100UL receiving FAA approval for widespread use and Swift Fuels' UL94 already in the market for suitable engines.

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File it under the category of “We were expecting this.”

On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed finding on leaded aviation fuel, triggering a response from the consortium of general aviation associations that have been working on the removal of lead from avgas with the FAA and industry partners. Under the EAGLE (Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions) initiative, the collective has demonstrated in recent months its commitment to sunsetting 100LL in a safe, deliberate manner.