Portales airport to get federal grant

PORTALES — Portales’ airport will soon be getting a $431,890 economic boost from the federal government.

The grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, announced Friday by U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich in a press release, will pay for the construction of two 12,000 gallon fuel tanks.

The tanks will be used to store fuel, which can then be sold to pilots as an additional source of revenue for the city, according to the press release.

“This funding will enable the Portales airport to purchase its own fuel tanks, an important step that will increase revenue and help the airport become self-sustainable, and — in the process — benefit folks in eastern New Mexico who rely on air service for transportation and business,” Udall said in the press release.

The city and state will each provide $28,185 in matching funds, according to City Clerk Joan Martinez-Terry.

The new fuel farm will be a replacement of the airport’s current farm, which Martinez-Terry said will “enable the airport to offer the jet fuel that our customers request.”

She added that in 2016, the revenues from fuel sales at the airport totaled $108,000.

The grant will also allow the farm to fall in line with state and federal regulations, according to Martinez-Terry.

“We have to comply with federal and state regulations regarding fuel sales and keeping fuel, so we try to stay on top of that so we’re in compliance,” he said. “I think we were beginning to get to the point where we’re not in compliance, so they wanted to replace it.”

Martinez-Terry said the city will begin searching for a contractor for the project in August.