Governor McCrory Provides Update on Fuel Situation | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

Colonial Pipeline bypass completed; Still several days for fuel flow to return to normal

    Raleigh, N.C.     Governor Pat McCrory announced today that Colonial Pipeline has completed construction and positioning of the bypass pipeline in Alabama, but it will still take several days for the fuel delivery supply chain to return to normal in North Carolina.

    "I'm pleased to report that Colonial Pipeline has now completed construction and positioning of the bypass pipeline," Governor McCrory said. "Colonial engineers are testing the pipeline today and upon successful completion, will prepare for a safe restart of the main fuel line. The company says the line should restart tomorrow, but it will take several days for fuel delivery to return to normal in North Carolina."

    Colonial Pipeline officials discovered a leak in the pipeline in Helena, Alabama where an estimated 252,000 gallons were spilled. As a result, North Carolina is currently receiving about one-third of the state's normal supply of fuel. After the leak, Colonial Pipeline started constructing the bypass line around the leak site and announced today that that bypass line was completed.

    The governor said his primary focus remains ensuring that our first responders have sufficient fuel to do their jobs. The governor said that several counties in North Carolina have been reporting intermittent fuel outages or low supplies, but that many of the outages are due to people topping off their tanks and extra fill ups.

    "We've successfully weathered fuel shortages before and we will do it again," Governor McCrory said. "Now is the time to pull together as a state and to conserve fuel when it's possible. We look forward to returning to business as usual in the near future."

    On Monday, Governor McCrory instructed state agencies to consider options to limit fuel usage, including curtailing non-essential travel for state employees. Today, he also encouraged the private sector and North Carolina motorists to follow the state's example by conserving fuel whenever possible.