The governor said Colonial Pipeline practiced a mock disaster last August less than a mile from the site of the actual leak. Three raccoons and a rabbit were later found dead.
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But De Haan said efforts to truck gasoline into North Carolina can not keep up with the volume the pipeline provides.
“The freakout is what leads to all of the impulse buying”, Smith said. Our crews around the Triangle and in Fayetteville have seen stations without gas.
Several miles away, police guarded the entrance to a Colonial Pipeline terminal beside Interstate 65. Tanker trucks like those used to haul fuel were parked around the property, and a steady stream of trucks came and went through the gate.
Though there have been some fuel shortages in the states surrounding Alabama, measures taken by the states and federal government are ensuring that gas is still getting to impacted states (albeit more slowly) and that price spike should be only temporary.
Senior Public Affairs Specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic Tammy Arnette said, “Gas price increases in Virginia that are resulting from the Colonial Pipeline issue will likely be temporary as prices should return to more seasonal levels as soon as the pipeline issue is resolved”. Officials don’t know when it began, but it’s believed to have leaked more than 250,000 gallons of gasoline.
Prices in neighboring states and regions may also rise as gasoline supply is diverted, DeHaan said.
When we spoke with the South Carolina Trucker’s Association, they said drivers aren’t in panic mode yet, but they’re feeling the strain.
Georgia has been hardest hit by the leak of nearly 6,000 barrels of gasoline from Colonial Pipeline’s major artery that runs from Texas to New England.
State Attorney General Roy Cooper said residents should report gas prices that seem unreasonably high.
A state law makes it illegal to overly inflate prices for critical goods and services during an emergency or abnormal market disruption. “The governor has directed Emergency Management officials to stay in contact with local officials should they have any requests for assistance” according to a release from the governor’s office. If the line is in place at the end of the week – Friday – then gas would not start flowing until Sunday. “And see it’s not just gasoline, it’s going to affect diesel as well because they’re running gasoline up the main diesel line periodically and so it’s cutting product as well on that”, Keen said. “This includes trucking and barging fuel from other markets and refineries”, the company said in Monday’s statement. He doesn’t anticipate that the price increases will affect the Northeast states, since these states get their gas from other pipelines and refineries.
High prices and spotty outages continue to greet drivers at gas stations all across Atlanta. “Just keep your tanks full or if you got containers, just fill them up”. Topping off, she says, puts a stress on supplies and could contribute to shortages.
Some gas stations were completely out of fuel.
The line supplies gasoline to the southeast, including North Carolina and SC.
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A pump at the BP gas station in the Landfall Center displays an out sign on their gas pump.
