As the aviation industry transitions to unleaded fuels, some turbulence is to be expected. A recent FAA decision helped clarify what measures airports can, and cannot, take to rush the process.
In 2022, Santa Clara County in California imposed a prohibition on 100LL aviation fuel, meaning only Swift Fuels 94Ul and General Aviation Modifications Inc. G100UL could be sold at the county’s airports. Local pilots and aviation businesses filed a complaint stating their concerns about safety issues this decision created and alleging discrimination – favoring certain classes of aircraft over others.
After a series of extensions and motions that delayed the decision, and after reviewing hundreds of pages of exhibits and evidence, the FAA recently handed in a ruling on the matter.
Because Santa Clara County received approximately $6.8 million in federal airport development assistance between 1983 and 2011, they are bound by certain terms in the grant agreement, one of which ensures “economic non-discrimination.” Furthermore, the imposed ban endangered pilots whose aircraft can only safely run on 100LL fuel.
For these reasons, and more, the FAA decided in favor of the complainants. Santa Clara County must lift the ban and allow the sale and storage of 100LL fuel.
This ruling is consistent with two prior decisions, in Santa Monica, California, and in Superior, Colorado, which stated “a ban or restriction of the sale or use of 100LL (Avgas) as a federally-obligated airport is inconsistent with Grant Assurance 22, Economic Nondiscrimination.”
The upshot? Airports using federal grant money must accept certain terms.
They cannot exercise their proprietary rights to prohibit the sale, distribution, or use of FAA-authorized fuels.
They cannot exercise their proprietary rights to limit services to those the airport actually provides (ie. selling other types of fuel).
They must make the facility available to all types, kinds, and classes of aircraft (within reason) by accommodating aircraft which require specific fuels for safe operation.
They must balance environmental concerns with their obligations to the terms of the federal grant monies they received.
While they can implement reasonable safety rules for self-fueling operations, they cannot prevent self-fueling with specific fuel types.
As of March 24, Santa Clara County has a decision to make; whether to comply with the ruling or appeal once again. Either way, they must now allow aircraft to self-fuel with 100LL. If they refuse to comply, they will be cut off from any further federal aid.
*Information taken from Jim Moore’s March 25, 2025 article at www.aopa.org.
