Colonial Pipeline said it has completed repairs to a major fuel line that runs through Georgia and returned it to service Friday, four days after a “potential gasoline release” was reported in Paulding County.
Line 1 had to be shuttered as crews worked to identify the “suspected release on our gasoline pipeline,” according to company spokesperson David Conti.
The line runs from Texas, northeast through Paulding and then continues north to New Jersey. It transports about 1.5 million barrels a day, the company’s website states.
A landowner in the area of Peg Cole Bridge Trail, off Villa Rica Highway, reported the possible leak Monday evening, Paulding fire department Capt. Steve Mapes and Colonial spokeswoman Meredith Stone confirmed.
The incident is under investigation by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday night. The agency said it remains in “close contact” with the operator and estimated the company’s “initial spill” at 60 barrels so far.
Earlier this week, the fire department said it was not called to assist with the possible leak.
“They’ve not declared this an emergency. We’d certainly support them if needed,” Mapes said.
As repairs were underway, the company said it worked with customers “on a plan to provide limited gasoline receipts and deliveries on certain segments of our system,” Conti said.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said he didn’t expect the shutdown to affect prices because of the “flood” of gasoline that is continuing to be produced.
According to GasBuddy.com, prices for regular unleaded around metro Atlanta on Wednesday were hovering at around $2.95 per gallon. De Haan said that’s about the same as they were Tuesday and a week ago. Compared to one month ago, prices at the pump are up about 2 cents per gallon.
Colonial is a major distributor of fuel from refineries on the Gulf Coast to much of the East Coast of the United States. Founded in 1962, and based in Alpharetta, the company operates more than 5,500 miles of pipelines between Texas and New Jersey.
The company operates a critical piece of U.S. infrastructure, as revealed in 2021, when a ransomware attack led to more than a week of fuel shortages on the East Coast, including in Georgia. Hackers did not gain control of the pipelines, but Colonial shut them down for five days to prevent cybercriminals from affecting industrial control systems, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time.
That shutdown strained supplies and triggered panic-buying in Georgia and other states.
A 2016 leak suffered by Colonial Pipeline in Alabama also bedeviled Georgia motorists for days. Colonial built a 500-foot bypass line near Birmingham as a temporary measure to get around the damaged segment of pipe.
— Staff writer David Aaro contributed to this article.
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