An Alabama pipeline leak is causing headaches for suppliers and consumers in the East Coast.
The Colonial Pipeline spilled over after one of its main arteries was pierced, causing producers to build a temporary line to redirect the spillage towards its original East Coast destinations.
The accident has caused gas prices in nearby states to rise–the rate in Georgia is an additional 12 cents per gallon of unleaded gas, 7 cents in North Carolina and South Carolina, 6 cents in Tennessee and 5 cents in Alabama within the last day.
Alternatively, other forms of shipping oil are being explored to help supply areas in need. However, other forms of supplying oil are more expensive and slower.As many as 336,000 gallons of fuel going upstream were spilled onto a national wildlife refuge. Thankfully, the damage caused to the environment was contained and not as bad as it could have been.The accident occurred near an old coal mine pit, with much of the oil falling into a water retention pond. Alabama is currently facing moderate to severe drought in its central regions.
Prices are rising by about one-tenth of a cent every hour in most places. The shortages are being caused more by demand than supply.
“We really did bypass the bullet,” said Myra Crawford, executive director at Cahaba Riverkeeper, which has been monitoring the area by canoe and foot.“If the oil had flowed into the river, where our lilies grow, it would have contaminated one of our state treasures.”
