California aviation businesses, sued at the state level and facing possible stiff fines for selling or distributing leaded avgas, want the U.S. Department of Transportation to intervene in the case and assert federal jurisdiction over regulation of the fuel, according to a report at AOPA.org, which notes that National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne has asked DOT General Counsel Robert S. Rivkin and the FAA to enter the case brought by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) under California’s Proposition 65. The lawsuit seeks to hold aviation businesses such as FBOs, responsible for lead emissions by aircraft. Read the full report here.
About Janice Wood
Janice Wood is editor of General Aviation News.
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DOT and the alphabets continue to kick the can down the road again, even after Michael Kraft admitted at the AOPA Summit this fall that an unleaded drop-in replacement for 100LL now appears unlikely. California’s CARB has a long history of taking precedent over federal environmental laws. If I sold Avgas in California, I would not assume that this issue will go away.  I would instead do all I could to get autogas onto my airfield and demonstrate I was serious about reducing lead emissions. I suspect that is all the CEH and FOE really want to see, that we are working on a solution beyond countless closed-door committee meetings in D.C.