Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

NORRIDGEWOCK: Airport low on fuel

Supply of nonethanol product drying up, putting Central Maine airport in a tight spot

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

NORRIDGEWOCK -- Business for the Central Maine Airport could drop once nonethanol fuel disappears from the state.

click image to enlarge

FUEL CONCERNS: Pilot Judy Mosher flies this 150 Cessna aircraft and fills it with gas that has an octane rating of 87. That fuel will no longer be available in about a month.

Staff photo by Erin Rhoda

Select images available for purchase in the
Maine Today Photo Store

In about a month, nonethanol fuel -- which is widely used in small engine planes, as well as lawn mowers, boats, snowmobiles, snow-blowers and antique cars -- will not be available in Maine.

There will be two main alternatives. For aircraft it will be a more expensive, low-lead gasoline. For other engines, it will be fuel that contains a percentage of ethanol.

The options have either monetary or performance drawbacks, according to people who rely on the less-expensive, nonethanol fuel, and could spell trouble for businesses selling the fuel, such as the Central Maine Airport.

"My phone's ringing off the hook: 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?' I don't have an answer for anybody," airport operator Kristina Wallace said.

She is certain of one thing, however: "Our airport runs on our fuel sales."

Judy Mosher of Fairfield is a guide who flies a 150 Cessna out of the airport. She fills the 1968 plane with gas that has an octane rating of 87.

However, due to a combination of federal regulatory requirements, tax incentives and market forces, fuel refiners and distributors are discovering it is no longer economical to supply that fuel.

Mosher said that with no 87 gasoline, she will be forced to purchase 100 low-lead aviation fuel, which is about $1 more per gallon. She will "definitely" not fly as often, she said.

Mike Willey of Oakland, a pilot and member of the airport advisory committee, added that the 100 low-lead fuel can be detrimental to planes that are not designed for it. The lead "fouls spark plugs and causes stuffed valves," he said, requiring more maintenance.

The fuel distributor for the airport, Winston Judd, general manager of D & C Transportation in Vermont, estimates he can provide the nonethanol fuel for about a month and a half longer.

"I'm going to supply them as long as I possibly can, and when it's done, it's done," he said.

Judd gets the nonethanol fuel from Ultramar, a subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, which owns and operates a refinery near Quebec City.

Louis Forget, vice president of public and government affairs for Ultramar, said the company replaced conventional nonethanol gasoline with a fuel that contains 10 percent ethanol, called E10, effective July 1. Ethanol is largely derived from corn.

The company was one of the last to make the change, he said, "in order to respond to U.S. demand."

"The U.S. industry has made the change to ethanol gas for a number of reasons: cleaner burning, less dependence on foreign supply, and it's more economical," he said.

E10, however, is not approved for any aircraft, said Parker Tyler, a member of the airport's advisory committee. Why? Because it causes engine failure.

But it's still used in other engines, such as those for lawn equipment, boats, chainsaws and snowmobiles, and it's causing problems.

E10 is a "powerful solvent that can damage engines and fuel systems, break down fiberglass fuel tanks and rapidly absorb water from the atmosphere, causing engine failure," according to the office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

It has been a particular problem for boaters, causing some boats to stall. Repairs are expensive, according to the office. Converting to aluminum fuel lines is also expensive.

But what can be done to introduce the nonethanol fuel back into Maine's market?, asked Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess, R-Cumberland.

Judd, the distributor, had an answer: "The only thing they can do is scream and holler at their congressman. If anyone's going to do anything about it, it's going to be the federal government."

Strang Burgess and Sen. Lisa Marraché, D-Waterville, discovered exactly that when they proposed a bill during the last legislative session to require retail dealers and distributors to offer nonethanol fuel. The bill stalled because "it wasn't something we could fix at the state level," Strang Burgess said.

It's a federal issue, she said, driven by fuel standards.

In 2007, the federal renewable fuel standard was updated to require that a minimum of 9 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into the gasoline supply in 2008. By 2022, that number is supposed to reach 36 billion gallons.

People have access to nonethanol fuel in other areas, such as the Midwest and Sweden, but getting it to Maine is not cost-effective, Willey said.

Ironically, he said, when fuel arrives in Maine, at terminals in Searsport or Portland, it is ethanol-free. Known as blend stock, it cannot be sold by retail outlets, however, because it only becomes approved as road fuel after it is mixed with ethanol.

To get nonethanol fuel to retailers, including Norridgewock's airport, the blend stock would have to meet physical and chemical standards, Willey said.

There would also need to be a distribution system. Currently, trucks and storage tanks have been converted to hold just fuel that contains ethanol. Converting back to nonethanol fuel tanks would be expensive.

"(Irving) could create a tank of nonethanol gas. They could do that. But there's not enough demand from the consumers to pull it through. And I think, in fact, there would be, but you have to tell the consumers about it," Strang Burgess said. "Recreational pilot people, a few people paid attention, but not many. Wait till it stops coming. Then they'll get it."

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com