FAA airport grant assurance changes include protection for 100LL
The FAA is standing up for 100LL. The agency posted a notice in the Federal Register regarding several changes to airport grant assurances, including the addition of Grant Assurance 40, which mandates the availability of 100LL fuel through 2030 or a possible earlier date when an FAA-authorized unleaded replacement fuel becomes available.
The notice follows a March 24 FAA ruling that a California county’s ban on leaded avgas violated grant assurances.
The FAA said the rule requiring 100LL availability will be in effect until the earlier of two dates: December 31, 2030, or the date on which the airport or a retail fuel supplier at the airport offers unleaded aviation gasoline that the FAA has approved “for use in nearly all piston-engine aircraft and engine models; and meets either an industry consensus standard or other standard that facilitates the safe use, production, and distribution of such unleaded aviation gasoline, as determined appropriate by the Administrator.” Violations will be subject to civil penalties, the FAA said.
The agency said its broader proposed changes to grant assurances under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) “reflect recent legislative provisions in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 as well as recently issued executive orders.”
Airport sponsors must agree to comply with assurances in order to receive AIP grants. The FAA modifies the assurances when necessary “to reflect new Federal requirements,” the agency said.
The latest proposed changes will affect grants issued during and after the 2025 fiscal year. They include the removal of executive orders regarding “Equal Employment Opportunity,” “Environmental Justice,” “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” and “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” the FAA said.
The changes add new executive orders that support “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” “Unleashing American Energy,” “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
The FAA said it is implementing the changes “to expedite processing Fiscal Year 2025 grants” and that it will accept public comments regarding the modified grants for 14 days.
