Posted on 09/18/2016 5:43:49 PM PDT by servo1969
On the morning of Sept. 9, an inspector with the Alabama Surface Mining Commission was performing a routine monthly check of an old coal mine in Shelby County when he noticed "a strong odor of gasoline" as well as a sheen on the surface of one of the retention ponds.
The gasoline he was smelling came from Colonial Pipeline's Line 1, an underground pipeline three feet in diameter that normally pushes 1.3 million barrels of gasoline per day from refineries in Houston to distribution centers across the Southeast and along the eastern seaboard.
That 36-inch line, built in 1963, has been estimated to supply the east coast of the United States with up to 40 percent of its gasoline supply. Colonial Pipeline initiated a shutdown of Line 1 within 20 minutes of receiving the report about a potential leak.
That section of pipeline remains closed. Eight days later, official estimates climbed to 336,000 gallons of lost gasoline. More than 700 people were working around the clock to dig up the pipe, plug the leak, clean up the old mining property south of Birmingham and restore supply.
With the flow of gasoline interrupted, the governors of six states have declared a state of emergency to allow truck drivers to work longer shifts to head off shortages at the pumps.
Gasoline is now being shipped by alternate routes throughout the southeast. Alternate pipelines are being used, and gasoline is even being shipped by tanker ship from Houston to New York.
Colonial announced Saturday the company will construct a temporary pipeline to bypass the spill site in hopes of restoring gasoline flows more quickly. No timetable was given for completing the bypass line."
(Excerpt) Read more at al.com ...
down to
And up in the Dakota’s a NEW pipeline that jumped through all the hoops has ground to a halt because a few indians did not get their way...we either move forward an fix our dilapidated infrastructure or pay a heavy price.
Sure wouldn’t take long to cripple us all if The Enemy blew up some lengths of gasoline pipelines here and there, would it?
I’m surprised 0bama hasn’t thought of that! *SPIT*
Seems a good builder, an engineer, someone adept at mega construction could put this country back to work. Trump would be the Infrastructure President.
Turk!
Our Atlanta station has plenty gas, $2.69. No lines either.
Ship it to NY? Don’t they have 19th century windmills by now?
Our stations were very crowded. Some had raised their prices by .50/gal.
We commented that civility was not going to last very long with no fuel. There were some really frustrated folks in the line we saw.
Governor here in TN declared State of Emergency Friday (I think) and people have lost their minds.
9
Jeez, I just paid $1.89. I bet that’s about to change, though.
I’m in Oak Ridge, NC. I went to 4 stations that were out of gas before finding one. I had to go to another town to find gas.
The problem isn't lack of construction expertise. The problem is coming up with the money.
This has received no news coverage...for such a major event. The interruption in gasoline supplies will follow the pipeline route toward the northeast. I Estimate it hits DC Wednesday when it will dominate the news.
$1.84/9 in mid Missouri
Alabama, Tennessee, & Georgia Declare States Of Emergency As Gas Shortages Loom - Leak
This tells me to fill it up in Kentucky when heading to Florida. : (
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