Gas was subsequently cut for an estimated 50 million people across Alabama, Georgia, North and SC and Tennessee.
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“I just pray that there is gas left when I get up there”, said Caroline Hicks, who had already been waiting for gas for 20 minutes.
Fuel supplies in those five states were threatened by the Alabama pipeline spill last week.
Stations were crowded with people preparing for Monday’s commute, he said, but he didn’t think people were hoarding.
The pumps were completely dry and attendants were not sure when they would get more gas.
GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan says a large gasoline spill from Colonial Pipeline’s Line 1 pipeline in Alabama is causing most of the problems. In an effort to minimize gas shortages farther north, the company is moving gasoline through a second pipeline that runs alongside the burst line and usually carries diesel and jet fuel.
“Along with applying for, and receiving, a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week, I’ve extended the executive order allowing extended operating times for commercial truck drivers to safeguard against any fuel supply issues in our state”, Deal said Friday in a news release.
Gas stations in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee have experienced outages and price spikes since the pipeline was shut down on September 9, the day the leak was discovered.
News outlets report that gasoline prices in some areas of the Carolinas have increased in recent days.
Several states in the Southeast have issued emergency orders waiving certain rules that restrict transport of fuel by road in order to keep filling stations stocked with fuel.
DeHaan said prices at non-branded chains were rising more quickly than those with larger, branded operations, because larger regional gasoline companies have the ability to tap supply more quickly. It is unclear when construction will be completed but the company has previously said it anticipates reopening the line, which can carry up to 1.2 million barrels of gasoline a day, later this week.
Pozin said that allows pipeline workers to avoid the hazardous fumes around the assumed site of the leak.
“If we don’t have gas we’re not going to sell anything inside either”, said Pravin Patel, owner of The Store at Village Green, 102 Park Ave.
The company said it is shipping as much gasoline as possible on its distillate mainline, Line 2, in order to mitigate the impact of the pipeline that has been shut down.
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In response to the shutdown, the governors in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee also announced they would lift restrictions on the number of hours that truck drivers delivering fuel can work, in hopes of preventing fuel shortages. That requirement of the Clean Air Act expired at midnight Thursday.
