San Jose's Reid-Hillview Airport draws congressional scrutiny over leaded aviation fuel

WASHINGTON -- Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose came under scrutiny Thursday as Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez testified before a congressional subcommittee considering a national ban on leaded aviation fuel.

Chavez, who represents District 2 on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, appeared before Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties and chairs the House committee on oversight and reform's subcommittee on the environment.

The subcommittee heard testimony about the harmful effects of airborne lead on communities near general aviation airports due to the use of leaded fuel.

Chavez testified that Santa Clara County's decision last August to ban the sale of leaded fuel at Reid-Hillview Airport in east San Jose has not impaired airport operations or had adverse safety issues since its implementation at the beginning of the year.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who represents most of the city of San Jose, including Reid-Hillview Airport, expressed concern that the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were both failing to take action to protect children and residents near airports from the effects of leaded fuel use.

Chavez cited a lack of federal action as the reasoning for Santa Clara County's recent ban.

"Santa Clara County had no choice but to take action itself," Chavez said.

The subcommittee is considering a national ban on leaded aviation fuel after what representatives described as decades of inaction and delay on the issue. Officials from both the EPA and FAA were not present at the hearing.

"I am outraged, honestly, that the EPA and the FAA would refuse to come and testify before you," Lofgren said. "It's shocking and unacceptable that the administration would refuse to engage in this serious health issue and I'm hoping that this hearing will help advance the cause of saving children from the scourge of lead poisoning."

Lofgren, while serving as a Santa Clara County supervisor, called for the closure of Reid-Hillview Airport in the 80s, but the measure was rejected.

Chavez and Santa Clara County Airport Commissioner Maricela Lechuga, who lives five blocks from the airport, said that a study commissioned by Santa Clara County found that children living within 1.5 miles of the airport had elevated blood lead levels due to the airborne pollution from planes.

The zone encompasses 21 schools and child-care centers, as well as housing about 52,000 residents.

Both San Jose residents said that the blood lead levels were found to be higher than those measured in Flint, Michigan during the city's lead water crisis.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents the 13th congressional district in Michigan, voiced concern that the nation is undergoing a lead crisis, with action needed to protect people from lead exposure.

"When planes from these airports fly over our communities, they are crop-dusting our neighborhoods with lead-poisoned air," Tlaib said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the EPA agree that there is no safe level of lead in children's blood.

Lead poisoning in children can damage the brain and nervous system, slow growth and development, lead to learning and behavior problems and cause hearing and speech issues, the CDC said.

"Families and teachers should not have to wonder if lead exposure is to blame for a child's learning or behavior issue," Lechuga said.

Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Canada, testified that significant drops in IQ occur in children even at low-level lead exposure. Additionally, the risk of chronic heart disease, the most common cause of death, increases for those exposed to lead.

Lechuga cited the makeup of the neighborhood surrounding Reid-Hillview Airport, which is largely Latino and immigrant, as representative of most neighborhoods surrounding general aviation airports nationwide, which are disproportionately made up of low-income residents and people of color.

Chavez agreed that the issue of banning leaded aviation fuel is an environmental justice issue.

"Our children are just as worthy as the children living in more affluent neighborhoods," Lechuga said.

George Braly, the chief executive officer of General Aviation Modifications Inc., and Chris D'Acosta, the chief executive officer of Swift Fuels, both testified that their companies have been developing unleaded aviation fuels but have faced red tape from the FAA.
Braly testified that the FAA has failed to approve his company's development, despite the product meeting all of the agency's requirements.

D'Acosta said that Swift Fuels was also involved in providing unleaded fuel to Reid-Hillview Airport following the Santa Clara County ban on the sale of leaded aviation fuel this year.

Lechuga also brought up other concerns of the neighborhood near the airport in east San Jose, like the lack of trees due to the need for clear fields for pilots nearby.

The neighborhood also experienced power outages and a shelter-in-place order last Friday after a plane crash near the airport took down power lines and a pole. The pilot was severely injured, San Jose police reported.