EPA ban on 100ll deadline coming in 2011?

[permison]

This has been wildly discussed on another forum but I haven't seen any mention here.

 

Apparently under the clean air act of 2006 100LL will either go away or be forced to change the mixture significantly and force aircraft manufatures to recertify thier aircraft engines to run on something else.

 

From the article earlier this year

http://www.economist.com/science-technolog...FTOKEN=88576752

 

The problem, of course, is that tetra-ethyl lead is the toxic substance that was banned from use in petrol in 1996 for health reasons. Back then, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted aviation fuel a reprieve—provided there was continued progress towards a suitable alternative. Over the past decade, the general-aviation industry has examined over 200 different blends in an effort to find a “transparent replacement” for 100LL. In performance terms, nothing has come close, it claims.

 

But that was before the Friends of the Earth petitioned the EPA in 2006 to regulate emissions from piston-engined aircraft under the Clean Air Act. The agency has since set a deadline for reducing the acceptable levels of all forms of atmospheric lead by an order of magnitude. The new standard goes into effect in 2011. That, more or less, spells an end of general aviation’s sweetheart deal on leaded fuels.

 

It came up again today on AvWeb.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Leade...r_202299-1.html

 

Leaded Avgas Issue Moving To Front Burner Email this article |Print this article

 

By Mary Grady, Contributing editor

 

A notice from the Environmental Protection Agency concerning the future of 100LL is expected to be published within the next few weeks, EAA's Doug Macnair, vice president for government relations, told AVweb on Tuesday. The advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or ANPRM, has already gone through the Office and Management of Budget, and publication in the Federal Register is the next step. According to the EPA Web site, the notice's regulatory review has been concluded and publication is projected for sometime this month. "This action will describe the lead inventory related to use of leaded avgas, air quality and exposure information, additional information the Agency is collecting related to the impact of lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft on air quality and will request comments on this information," according to the EPA Web site. The ANPRM is not expected to set a final date for the end of 100LL, but will likely seek input from the industry and the public to develop a transition plan so the fuel can be phased out, Macnair said.

 

The ANPRM publication is expected to energize efforts to address the lingering issue of finding a viable replacement for 100LL, which has been a topic of concern in the GA world for two decades or more. A lot of input from advocacy groups and manufacturers will have to be worked through to come up with a consensus standard and produce a fuel that will reliably meet the needs of general aviation airplanes, Macnair said. "It's going to be a painful process," he added. "There's no way around it." Plenty of contenders are already at work on a solution, including Swift Fuel, General Aviation Modifications (GAMI) and some engine and airframe manufacturers. The EPA has said it would like to see leaded fuel phased out as early as 2017, EAA's Earl Lawrence said in a February update. The issue was a topic of discussion last November at the AOPA Summit, and with the publication of the ANPRM, activity toward finding an alternative is expected to intensify in the coming season. AOPA, EAA, GAMA, NBAA and other aviation advocacy groups already have been at work on the issue as well.

 

 

I'm not sure which date is correct either 2011 or 2017 but it looks like we need an alternative quickly.

[r22butters]

This reminds me of when they eliminated 'leaded' gas for cars many, many, years ago. At the time I was driving an old '65 Mustang, my choices were either to get new heads with hardened valve seats, or put in a lead additive every other time I fuel up.

 

Its a new world, no more trans fats for us, and no more lead for our machines.

[adam32]

I'm guessing a new fuel will take a couple years to get approved by the FAA, so they will just add a fat tax on 100LL until the feds pull their heads out and approve another fuel...

Edited April 9, 2010 by adam32

[jumpngonuts]

This is really spooky... It will either kill GA or save it. I wish they would just leave things be, but that will never happen. There is plenty of other things the EPA can worry about besides avgas