A lawsuit demanding the immediate regulation of leaded avgas was dismissed by a U.S. District Court last week, constituting the latest development in the ongoing saga over the widely used aviation fuel.
The lawsuit, filed by the Friends of the Earth last year, argued that the Environmental Protection Agency had not properly addressed a 2006 petition calling upon the agency to designate leaded avgas as a dangerous substance. In its ruling last week, the court dismissed the claim, saying the EPA has full discretion in making an endangerment finding and cannot be forced to issue one by a civil group like Friends of the Earth. Had the court ruled in favor of that environmental group, the EPA may have been required to make a decision regarding the future of avgas by a date mandated by the court.
