STL Airlines to Invest $50 million for Jet Fuel Storage Facility

Posted on March 02, 2018 in Media Releases

Rendering of the replacement fuel storage facility planned at Airport Rd and James S. McDonnell Blvd by STL Fuel Company LLC just east of STL Airport.

Replacement Fuel Farm Improves Environmental Footprint, Ability to Expand Operations

STL Fuel Company LLC, a consortium of airlines that manages, maintains, and operates the existing Fuel System at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), has been cleared to build a $50 million jet fuel storage facility for the Airport to replace the current fuel facility built in 1957.

The City of St. Louis approved a second amendment to its original Fuel System Lease and Use Agreement with STL Fuel Company LLC that encompasses the construction of a more modern, environmentally-friendly fuel storage facility or fuel farm.

The proposed replacement fuel farm will be located on nearly eight acres of airport-owned property near the intersection of Airport Road and James S. McDonnell Boulevard. The replacement fuel farm will consist initially of three 722,000 gallon above-ground fuel storage tanks and associated pumps, filters and other equipment, with a total minimum usable storage capacity of 1,890,000 gallons. The site will have room for expansion beyond that capacity as well.

The existing 1957 fuel storage area is located just south of Terminal 1 along Lambert International Blvd. STL was one of the first airports to operate a below-ground integrated aircraft fueling hydrant system in the country. However, the age of that infrastructure along with new environmental regulations affecting all fuel storage facilities led to the decision by the airline consortium to build a replacement facility.

“STL Fuel Company LLC is excited to partner with St. Louis Lambert International Airport to modernize its jet fuel system” said Jim Stevenson, Southwest Airlines Fuel Category Manager and Chairman of STL Fuel Company LLC. “This major capital project being undertaken by STL Fuel Company LLC will allow us to build a replacement fuel storage facility that will be cleaner for the environment, safer for the operators, more cost-efficient for all users, and will result in state-of-the-art, robust infrastructure that will reliably take us into the future.”

“Our airlines are making a major investment in our airport with a fueling operation that is more efficient, environmentally sensitive and will be able to meet the demand of growth well into the future,” said STL Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.

The replacement fuel farm also will include a modern operations and administration building secured by a perimeter fence, surveillance cameras, and security gates. Once design is complete, STL Fuel Company LLC will have approximately two years to complete the project, which will include building a fuel transfer line from the facility to the Airport’s terminals, which then routes the fuel to each airline gate.

After construction of the replacement fuel farm, STL Fuel Company LLC will close and decommission the existing fuel storage facility at its own cost, by removing underground and above-ground tanks, structures, and related equipment, and remediating environmental conditions on the site. Pipes and associated equipment connecting to the Fuel Hydrant System and located outside of the existing fuel farm will be cleaned, capped, and abandoned in place.

The decommissioning of the old fuel farm is expected to be completed within 30 months of STL Fuel Company LLC’s beneficiary occupancy of the replacement fuel storage facility.

STL Fuel Company LLC is already beginning preliminary field work, including fuel line upgrades around terminal gate connections, in advance of fuel farm project.