In less than two months, Governor Nathan Deal has issued his second executive order waiving regulations for commercial truck drivers transporting motor fuel in Georgia.
Deal issued the latest order Tuesday as a result of the Colonial Pipeline explosion which took place Monday in Shelby, Ala. The executive order is effective Nov. 2 through midnight Nov. 15.
“Following the Colonial Pipeline rupture and explosion, I have issued an executive order suspending rules limiting drivers’ operating hours, per 49 CFR 390 et, seq.,” said Deal. “This measure is intended to help ensure uninterrupted fuel supply in Georgia as we await more information from Alabama officials. Until normal pipeline production resumes, I urge the public to maintain regular consumption levels and travel schedules.”
Colonial Pipeline officials say one person was killed and five others were injured following the explosion on their pipeline on Monday.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration sent federal investigators to the explosion site in Shelby, Ala. PHMSA officials said the Colonial contractors were working on repairs on Line 1 that were related to a Sept. 9 incident that resulted in 6,000 barrels of gasoline being released into a retention pond. That September incident caused gas prices to spike across the Southeast, and caused a gas shortage in some areas of Georgia — especially metro Atlanta. The pipeline was out of service for two weeks as a result of that leak.
Garrett Townsend, a spokesman for AAA, issued a statement Monday that said the explosion along the Alpharetta-based company’s pipeline came just as gas prices were just beginning to recover from the closure in September. Colonial Pipeline built a bypass line that was set to be removed next month.
“The explosion will at least temporarily put a halt to the pump-price dip we’ve experienced over the past 30 days,” said Townsend.
Townsend said Colonial Pipeline shut down the company’s “Lines 1 and 2 in response to what they called an ‘integrity event.'”
Line 1, according to AAA, has an apparent capacity of 1.3 million barrels of gasoline per day, while Line 2 has a reported capacity of 1 million barrels per day for the shipping of diesel fuel, diesel, jet fuel and other distillate,.
Any extended shutdown of both lines is expected to have a “major impact” on supplies and prices along the impacted area, which AAA describes as stretching primarily along the Gulf and Eastern coastlines.
