The pipeline has been shut down since Friday and normally transports 1.3 million barrels per day of refined gasoline and other petroleum products from refineries in Houston to the south and eastern seaboard.
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In addition, some suppliers have begun shipping refined gasoline by water to NY from Houston while the pipeline is shut down.
Gasoline futures were higher on Friday, even though most other parts of the energy complex were lower, and prices are up almost 8 percent since the leak was found a week ago.
A recently discovered leak in a crucial pipeline that carries gasoline to the east coast has resulted in the closure of that pipeline.
Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama has declared a state of emergency in order to facilitate the granting of a United States Department of Transportation waiver.
Additionally, the governors of Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina issued emergency declarations Thursday lifting rules regulating how many drivers who are carrying fuel can work.
SC Gov. Nikki Haley has issued an executive order to lift the restrictions on the hours fuel truck drivers can drive per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations.
The use of water for transport has also begun in order to supply states such as NY with gasoline from Houston.
“The Colonial pipeline is the metaphorical aorta for the supply to the most-populated regions of the country, and you’ve lost 10 days of blood flow”, Kloza said.
“Tennessee’s consumers need to maintain their normal driving and fuel buying habits”.
The agency said the spill is “within an unusually sensitive ecological area” and it ordered Colonial to take action “to protect the public, property and the environment from potential hazards”.
Nearby creeks and streams are being monitored to make sure the gasoline does not reach them as they flow into the Cahaba River.
Gasoline futures have soared and prices at the pump in certain states have started to spike due to an ongoing partial shutdown of Colonial Pipeline, the vital artery bringing gasoline and other products to the U.S. East Coast.
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The pipeline’s operator has said full service will not be restored until at least next week.
