St. Mary's County Regional Airport to Add 12,000-Gallon Sustainable Aviation Fuel Tank After Commissioners Approve $350,000 Grant Agreement
Why It MattersRegional airports are beginning to add sustainable fuel storage, extending carbon-offset jet fuel beyond major hubs and potentially shaping where corporate and medevac operators choose to base or refuel.
The Commissioners of St. Mary's County on Oct. 27 approved a memorandum of agreement with The Patuxent Partnership to receive the second and final part of a state bond bill grant, $350,000, for a 12,000-gallon above-ground jet fuel tank at St. Mary's County Regional Airport in Maryland. The tank is intended to carry sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and airport supporters say it would make the facility the first airport in Maryland to sell jet fuel with carbon offsets. No commissioner voiced opposition, and the board authorized the commissioner president to sign the agreement.
SAF is a biofuel made from sources other than petroleum. Speakers at the meeting said it can be blended with regular jet fuel and is fully interchangeable with conventional Jet A. Buyers can claim carbon offsets, which public works officials said would appeal to corporations trying to cut emissions. The commissioners approved the first part of the grant last year for design, construction and infrastructure; the second award covers the remaining engineering and site work. A public works official said no third part would follow, though the airport expects to bring a new project forward next year. The tank will sit above ground because environmental rules have pushed airports away from in-ground tanks.
The tank follows this spring's runway extension, which, according to the governor's office, lengthened the runway from approximately 4,150 feet to more than 5,200 feet. That allows the airport to accommodate larger aircraft including medevac flights, corporate jets and defense-related aircraft; before the extension, it could only accommodate small piston aircraft. The state provided nearly $1 million in funding to help unlock federal grants, and Maryland's U.S. senators cited more than $22 million in federal investment.
After the vote, airport figure Billman told the commissioners that his company, Research Engineering Development, has acquired Tilford Aviation, an aircraft maintenance firm he said has about 100 employees, a base in Hagerstown and several bases overseas. He said the company will keep the Hagerstown site but plans to bring many employees to the St. Mary's County airport and hopes eventually to expand on the airport's west end. The commissioners did not set a date for the tank's installation or for the start of SAF sales.
