Austin American-Statesman Editorial: Airport demands more fuel, but safety should be priority

Some longtime East Austin residents are still haunted by memories of a 52-acre tank farm that leaked petroleum and other toxins into surrounding soil and groundwater for decades, sickening some predominately Latino and Black neighbors. Activists finally managed to shutter the massive fuel depot at Springdale Road and Airport Boulevard in the 1990s, but now a new fuel tank controversy is flaring up at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. With the Sprindale Road history in mind and staring at the prospect that three million gallons of jet fuel could be stored just across the road in 2024, the airport's nearest neighbors are nervous. About a dozen modest, older homes on McCall Lane sit about 500 feet from the fuel depot's proposed site. Though it's been in the planning stages for more than two years, residents told reporters they were unaware of the fuel tank project until recently. Airport officials say they tried notifying neighbors starting in 2017.

Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who represents parts of East Austin including the airport, is asking the City Council to approve a resolution this week that would delay --- and possibly derail -- placing the new jet fuel storage tanks on the western edge of airport property along U.S.183. Fuentes contends the airport's public awareness efforts did not meet standards required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for communities at heightened risk of environmental dangers. She wants the council to pause the project, consider other sites, and engage the public in more discussion. There is no disputing the dire need for additional fuel reserves at the increasingly busy Austin airport; just last week ABIA issued a low fuel alert to airlines. We understand why airport officials want to move ahead with the federally approved fuel storage project, part of the airport's expansion plans. But the health and safety of our community is more important. We urge the City Council to put the project on hold and require the airport to be transparent about the risks of storing jet fuel. Airport officials should do everything they can to assure the public they have met EPA guidelines for informing and protecting nearby residents.