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Drivers in the Southeast are feeling the effects of the region's big pipeline problem.

Commuters risk sticker shock at the pump, and some may have a headache finding any gas at all.

A leak earlier this month caused the closure of a key pipeline that carries gas to the eastern United States, a disruption that's already causing inconveniences for consumers in the region.

On Sunday night, a number of service stations in Metro-Atlanta and north Georgia had run out of gas. At others that still had some left, cars were lined up -- even for premium.

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Gas prices are up on average 16 cents in Georgia and 10 cents in Tennessee since last weekend, according to AAA.

In North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety said the state was experiencing "spotty" shortages. Similar issues were reported in parts of Tennessee. And authorities in South Carolina said they had heard of "isolated cases" of gas stations running out of fuel.

Six states across the region -- Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- have declared states of emergency, relaxing limits on fuel transportation to try to stave off shortages and price spikes.

The problems so far don't appear too severe, however.

Authorities in Tennessee and South Carolina said there have been no widespread fuel shortages. Officials in other states were unable to provide more details on the situation Sunday.

A section of the Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to New York, has been closed since Sept. 9 after a spill of roughly 250,000 gallons was discovered in rural Shelby County, Ala.

The Colonial Pipeline provides gasoline for an estimated 50 million people on the East Coast each day, according to company estimates. The cause of the leak has yet to be determined.

The company has been scrambling to get the pipeline back online. On Saturday night, it said it was building a bypass line to get fuel flowing again.

The closure has set off an industry-wide scramble as suppliers seek alternative ways to transport gasoline to the East Coast.

State Emergency Response Team activates JIC re: impacts to NC from #ColonialPipeline leak https://t.co/FywdSjP5un pic.twitter.com/OkzhcgYikP — NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) September 19, 2016

The North Carolina Emergency Response Team activated a Joint Information Center to coordinate release of information regarding impacts from the leak. Follow @NCEmergency and @WTKR3 on Twitter for the latest.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video</s>Drivers in the Southeast are feeling the effects of the region's big pipeline problem.

Commuters risk sticker shock at the pump on Monday, and some may have a headache finding any gas at all.

A leak earlier this month caused the closure of a key pipeline that carries gas to the eastern United States, a disruption that's already causing inconveniences for consumers in the region.

On Sunday night, a number of service stations in Metro-Atlanta and north Georgia had run out of gas. At others that still had some left, cars were lined up -- even for premium.

Gas prices are up on average 16 cents in Georgia and 10 cents in Tennessee since last weekend, according to AAA.

In North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety said the state was experiencing "spotty" shortages. Similar issues were reported in parts of Tennessee. And authorities in South Carolina said they had heard of "isolated cases" of gas stations running out of fuel.

Six states across the region -- Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- have declared states of emergency, relaxing limits on fuel transportation to try to stave off shortages and price spikes.

Related: Why you shouldn't panic about the coming increase in gas prices

The problems so far don't appear too severe, however.

Authorities in Tennessee and South Carolina said there have been no widespread fuel shortages. Officials in other states were unable to provide more details on the situation Sunday.

A section of the Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to New York, has been closed since Sept. 9 after a spill of roughly 250,000 gallons was discovered in rural Shelby County, Ala.

The Colonial Pipeline provides gasoline for an estimated 50 million people on the East Coast each day, according to company estimates. The cause of the leak has yet to be determined.

The company has been scrambling to get the pipeline back online. On Saturday night, it said it was building a bypass line to get fuel flowing again.

The closure has set off an industry-wide scramble as suppliers seek alternative ways to transport gasoline to the East Coast.

-- Richard Griffiths, Jethro Mullen, Charles Riley and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.</s>LAURINBURG — Scotland County drivers could see gasoline prices rise anywhere between five and 20 cents over the coming days following a pipeline leak in Alabama that carries gas to states up and down the east coast.

The Colonial Pipeline Company said it will need to build a bypass line. The company gave no timetable as to when that line would be completed or what path it would take — until then, prices could soar and supplies could run out.

There have already been some spikes in fuel cost around the area. Monday morning gasoline prices for regular unleaded was at $2.10 at the Community Stop gas station on U.S. 401 across from St. Andrews University — by 2 p.m. the price had increased to $2.39, according to Caitlyn Graham, a clerk at Community Stop.

“I have noticed a lot more people than usual coming to fuel up,” Graham said.

The Kangaroo Express gas station on South Main Street ran out of premium gasoline on Monday, but that shortage was not related to the pipeline spill, a store official said.

Jody Parrish of Laurinburg, who was at the gas station on Monday, said he planned to fill up.

“My wife just called me and told I better top off my tank before the prices go up,” he said. “I commute 60 miles for work, so this shortage could really effect me.”

Gov. Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency for North Carolina.

“We are working with state and national officials to make sure North Carolina is not impacted by this leak,” said McCrory in a press release issued Friday evening. “This executive order will help protect our motorists from excessive gas prices and ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel that is essential for the health, safety and economic well-being of businesses, consumers and visitors in North Carolina.”

Officials believe six states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Alabama — are all facing possible shortages due to the spill. The Colonial Pipeline runs from Texas to New York and supplies gas to an estimated 50 million people a day on the East Coast. On Sept. 9, a 36-inch pipeline near Birmingham, Alabama began leaking gasoline at least 252,000 gallons into a nearby pond. The pipeline was shut down after the leak was discovered.

The pipeline company has two main lines and said Monday that it is shipping “significant volumes” on the second of the two lines to mitigate the impact of the interruption on the other line. Colonial Pipeline also said it was working “around the clock” to repair the break and supplies have either been delivered or are on their way to locations in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

State officials are reminding North Carolina residents that there is a price gouging law in effect. Price gouging is the act of charging excessive prices in a time of crisis. As of 11 a.m. on Monday, more than 400 consumers had filed complaints of potential gas price gouging to the state’s Consumer Protection Division.

“Consumers are our eyes and ears on the ground and we want to know if you spot potential gas price gouging,” state Attorney General Roy Cooper said.

If you plan to file a report, the AG’s office said it is helpful to provide receipts of purchased gasoline or photos of gas station price signs. The Consumer Protection Division then follows up on complaints to determine if the law has been violated.</s>The roughly 500-foot (152- meter) section of pipe that will serve as the bypass is now complete, and the company expects that will allow it to restart the main gasoline line, Colonial Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker told The Associated Press.

“Tomorrow’s restart of the main gasoline line is a key milestone,” Baker said. “However, it will take a few days for the fuel supply chain to fully recover.”

The bypass was needed to move fuel around the leak of its main gasoline pipeline in Shelby County, Alabama. The leak, which spilled between 252,000 gallons and 336,000 gallons of gasoline into a detention pond, was detected Sept. 9.

The leak has led to some gas shortages and higher prices at the pumps in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.

On Tuesday, gas prices continued to climb in several southern states, the auto club AAA reported.

In Georgia, Tuesday’s average price for regular gas rose about 5 cents from Monday, to an average $2.36 statewide — up nearly 27 cents over the past week. Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia also saw prices climb since Monday, AAA reported Tuesday.

In Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley said gas prices in parts of the state rose 20 cents over the weekend after the pipeline leak, but said he didn’t consider that price gouging.

“It changes overnight sometimes that much,” he said.

Bentley toured Colonial Pipeline’s emergency response center, in a luxury resort hotel about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the pipeline breach, and spent much of a news conference Monday praising the company’s response.

A disaster drill was held coincidentally last year near the scene of the spill, he said, and that helped the company plan and execute a response that included about 700 people so far.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve noticed that the prices have just gone up — I mean, through the roof!” Tom Wargo said at a gas station northeast of Atlanta.

Wargo runs a nonprofit organization that supplies pet food to people in need and spends much of his time on the road. He just returned from a road trip to Louisiana, where he helped people after the floods there, he said.

“I tried getting gas yesterday and a lot of the stations had no gas at all, except diesel,” Wargo said Monday.

“We certainly expect the gas prices to increase, certainly while this line is under repair and not at full capacity,” AAA spokesman Garrett Townsend said Monday.

In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal issued an executive order Monday aimed at preventing price gouging.

“There have been recent reports that wholesale and retail gas prices have substantially increased in some markets,” he said.

According to a preliminary report, it wasn’t possible to immediately pinpoint the leak, partly because highly flammable benzene and gasoline vapors hung in the air and prevented firefighters, company officials and anyone else from being near the site for more than three days.

State workers discovered the leak when they noticed a strong gasoline odor and sheen on a man-made retention pond, along with dead vegetation nearby, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in the report.

The report does not identify the cause of the leak. The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is investigating the leak in a section of the pipeline constructed in 1963, it said.

Governors across the South issued executive orders last week to suspend limitations on trucking hours, allowing drivers to stay on the road longer to bring fuel to gas stations.</s>The number of eggs in one basket with this thing is insane.

Six states — Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and North Carolina — are facing possible gas shortages after a pipeline spill, officials said.

The states have all declared states of emergency, citing concerns about “fuel supply disruptions” and “disruptions of gasoline” in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline spill.

The governor of North Carolina declared the state of emergency to “help ensure that there will be adequate supplies of fuel across the state and prevent excessive fuel pricing.”

Prices on futures contracts for wholesale gasoline rose about 2 percent Friday to $1.46 a gallon after rising 5 percent on Thursday.

Long lines have quickly amassed at gas stations in the six states, and social media users took to their accounts to document the chaos and dwindling gasoline supply, in some cases. Below, images from Tennessee.</s>“It changes overnight sometimes that much,” he said.

Bentley toured Colonial Pipeline’s emergency response center, in a luxury resort hotel about 12 miles from the pipeline breach, and spent much of a news conference Monday praising the company’s response.

A disaster drill was held coincidentally last year near the scene of the spill, he said, and that helped the company plan and execute a response that included about 700 people so far.

Colonial said it was working “around the clock” to repair the break and supplies have been delivered or are on their way to locations in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Colonial said Monday evening in a statement that it expects the temporary pipeline to be running by the end of the week but gave no specific day.

On Tuesday, gas prices continued to climb in several southern states, the auto club AAA reported.

In Georgia, Tuesday’s average price for regular gas rose about 5 cents since Monday, to an average $2.36 statewide — up nearly 27 cents over the past week. Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia also saw prices climb since Monday, AAA reported Tuesday.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve noticed that the prices have just gone up — I mean, through the roof!” Tom Wargo said at a gas station northeast of Atlanta.

Wargo runs a nonprofit organization that supplies pet food to people in need and spends much of his time on the road. He just returned from a road trip to Louisiana, where he helped people after the floods there, he said.

“I tried getting gas yesterday and a lot of the stations had no gas at all, except diesel,” Wargo said Monday.

“We certainly expect the gas prices to increase, certainly while this line is under repair and not at full capacity,” AAA spokesman Garrett Townsend said Monday.

“There have been recent reports that wholesale and retail gas prices have substantially increased in some markets,” he said.

The shortage is blamed on a pipeline rupture and leak of at least 252,000 gallons of gas in Alabama. The pipeline company has two main lines and said Monday that it is shipping “significant volumes” on the second of the two lines to limit the effect of the interruption on the other line.

Lindsey Paluka, 28, stopped at a Shell gas station in the East Atlanta neighborhood only to find a gas pump handle covered by a black garbage bag.

“I’m definitely on empty, so I’m going to have to figure something out,” she said.

Alpharetta, Georgia-based Colonial has acknowledged that between 252,000 gallons and 336,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from a pipeline near Helena, Alabama, since the spill was first detected Sept. 9. It’s unclear when the spill actually began.

According to a preliminary report, it wasn’t possible to immediately pinpoint the leak, partly because highly flammable benzene and gasoline vapors hung in the air and prevented firefighters, company officials and anyone else from being near the site for more than three days.

State workers discovered the leak when they noticed a strong gasoline odor and sheen on a man-made retention pond, along with dead vegetation nearby, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in the report.

The report does not identify the cause of the leak. The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is investigating the leak in a section of the pipeline constructed in 1963, it said.

Governors across the South issued executive orders last week to suspend limitations on trucking hours, allowing drivers to stay on the road longer to bring fuel to gas stations.</s>LUMBERTON — Robeson County residents looking to keep their cars fed may have a tough time this week as a damaged pipeline in Alabama has North Carolina’s gasoline supply drying up and prices rising.

With the Colonial Pipeline damaged, the supply of gasoline throughout the Southeastern United States has been interrupted. The pipeline, which runs from Houston to New York, has spilled more than 250,000 gallons since the leak was discovered on Sept. 9. The shutdown for repairs is causing delays in the arrival of fuel trucks, though Colonial says that deliveries are on their way.

“We are out in our locations,” Bucky Miller, who purchases gas for four local stations, said Monday. “I was told yesterday that the terminals in Fayetteville, Greensboro and Wilmington would be out for two more weeks.”

The effects of the leak were evident throughout Lumberton Tuesday morning. Many gas stations had bags or “Out of Order” signs on some or all of their pumps. Other gas stations were limiting the amount of fuel each customer could purchase, and some had signs stating that they were out of regular.

With the supply short and demand the same, prices rose quickly throughout the Southeast. Before the weekend, the average gallon of gasoline was $2.05, according to AAA Carolinas. The average on Monday, throughout the state, was $2.16. While most gas station prices in Lumberton jumped over the weekend, they stayed steady at around $2.20 a gallon on Tuesday.

Colonial Pipeline Company remained buoyant Monday, hopeful that the interruption to supply would be minimal.

“In an effort to minimize supply disruptions, last week Colonial Pipeline gathered gasoline from Gulf Coast refiners in order to ship supplies on its distillate line to markets throughout the affected region,” a statement read. “… As a result, following around-the-clock operations to effect this contingency plan, supplies of gasoline have been delivered and/or are in route to terminal locations in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina.”

As of Monday morning, more than 400 consumers had filed complaints online or via a toll-free hotline to report potential gasoline price gouging to Attorney General Roy Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division.

Price gouging — or over-charging in times of crisis — is against North Carolina law when a disaster, an emergency or an abnormal market disruption for critical goods and services is declared or proclaimed by the governor. The law applies to all levels of the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the distributor to the retailer.

Cooper spokeswoman Noelle Talley said investigators are checking reports of gasoline being sold at $5.89 a gallon and another offered at more than $4 a gallon. Violators can be fined up to $5,000.

Gov. Pat McCrory on Monday activated North Carolina’s State Emergency Response Team to coordinate with counties regarding fuel needs.

“Based on our ongoing updates from Colonial, the construction of a bypass pipeline is moving forward which will soon allow fuel supply operations to return to normal,” McCrory said. “In the meantime my executive orders remain in effect to protect motorists from excessive gas prices and minimize any interruption in the supply of fuel.”

McCrory was briefed by state energy and emergency officials Tuesday and discussed short-term conservation measures until normal fuel flows are completely restored. The governor said the state’s first priority continues to be ensuring that adequate fuel is available for first responders and emergency officials.

He said that he has instructed state agencies to consider options to limit fuel use, including curtailing non-essential travel for state employees.

Reach Mike Gellatly at 910-816-1989 or on Twitter @MikeGellatly. The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>States across the Southeast are experiencing sharp jumps in gas prices after a major gasoline pipeline ruptured in central Alabama, spilling as many as 336,000 gallons of fuel upstream from a national wildlife refuge. But thanks to a few strokes of luck, the environmental damage is minimal.

The pipeline breached near an old coal mine pit, and much of the fuel flowed into a water retention pond.

With local streams dry -- much of central Alabama is suffering from moderate to severe drought -- the gasoline did not find its way down into the Cahaba River, home to 64 rare and endangered plant and animal species, including the Cahaba lily.

“We really did bypass the bullet,” said Myra Crawford, executive director at Cahaba Riverkeeper, which has been monitoring the area by canoe and foot.“It could have been horrible. If the oil had flowed into the river, where our lilies grow, it would have contaminated one of our state treasures. It could have flowed down through Alabama and into the Mobile Bay.”

The leak was discovered Friday when a mining inspector detected a strong odor of gasoline at a mining property in a remote area of Shelby County, about 30 miles south of Birmingham.

It came from Colonial Pipeline's Line 1, a 3-foot-wide pipe that typically transports 1.3 million barrels of gasoline a day from Houston refineries to distribution centers across the Southeast and all the way up to Linden, N.J. Built in 1964, the pipeline provides the East Coast with up to 40% of its gasoline supply.

The Alpharetta, Ga.-based company immediately shut down the pipeline. Last week, crews began removing gasoline and water from the retention pond to temporary storage tanks. Underflow dams were constructed and a boom was installed to ensure that no fuel traveled into a dry creek bed that runs from the pond to Peel Creek, which flows into the Cahaba River.

More than 700 people are now working at the site, attempting to excavate and repair the damaged section of pipe as well as construct a temporary line to bypass the leaked section.

So far, hardly any wildlife seems to have have perished as a result of fuel exposure: “A few very small mammals, one bird, a snake,” Crawford said. “Most of the damage has been to the pipeline itself and to the people who need gas for their cars.”

Over the weekend, drivers in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas faced longer lines at the gas pumps and, in some cases, dry pumps.

In Georgia, the average price of a gallon of regular gas jumped from $2.09 on Tuesday to $2.31 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy.com, a consumer-driven website that helps drivers find cheap gas. Over the weekend, GasBuddy customers reported a Super Express gas station in Evans, Ga., charging $3.49 and an Exxon station in McLean, Va., charging $3.19.

Colonial is still transporting gasoline from Houston to western Alabama. In an effort to minimize gas shortages farther north, the company is moving gasoline through a second pipeline that runs alongside the burst line and usually carries diesel and jet fuel.

Last week, the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia issued executive orders that temporarily suspended various state and federal regulations to allow truck drivers to work longer shifts to deliver gasoline. “The uninterrupted supply” of gas is an “essential need for the public and any perceived shortage threatens the public welfare,” Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in his order.

As consumers in many parts of the Southeast rushed to fill up their tanks, some gas stations ran out of fuel. Emergency management officials in some states urged consumers not to panic.

“Tennessee’s consumers need to maintain their normal driving and fuel buying habits,” Tennessee Emergency Management Agency director Patrick Sheehan urged in a statement Saturday. “If consumers fill up unnecessarily, top off their tanks when they aren’t close to empty, and fill multiple containers at the pumps, then our petroleum retailers will not be able to keep up with the demand of the fuel supply.”

The spill comes at a crucial time for the oil industry. Thousands of Native American protesters have gathered in North Dakota in recent weeks to block construction of the new Dakota Access pipeline. They argue that the pipeline would pass through sacred sites and burial ground, and that any future spills could be culturally and economically catastrophic.

In Alabama, Cahaba Riverkeeper praised Colonial for its transparency, noting that within an hour of hearing of the leak the company invited the group to monitor the damage.

“That’s very unusual,” Crawford said, noting that her group had begun to forge a relationship with the oil company in the last year. “I keep thinking this is a good time where oil and water mixed.”

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Hanjin bankruptcy is the tip of the iceberg for flailing shippers</s>NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Gasoline prices in the southeastern United States kept rising on Monday as Colonial Pipeline Co continued to fix a more-than-week long disruption on a key gasoline line that has led to complaints of long waits and price gouging at the pump.

The leak, which was discovered on Sept. 9, released about 6,000 to 8,000 barrels (252,000-336,000 gallons) of gasoline in Shelby County, Alabama. The partial shutdown of the damaged Line 1, which carries about 1.3 million barrels per day of gasoline from the refining hub on the Gulf Coast to the East Coast, also roiled the markets.

Benchmark gasoline futures gained 9 percent in the week following the leak, although futures pared losses on Monday, falling 2 percent to $1.4318 a gallon.

Retail gasoline prices in Georgia, one of the hardest hit states, jumped nearly 6 cents overnight to Monday, or more than 20 cents higher than a week ago, to $2.316 a gallon on average, according to motorists' advocacy group AAA.

Richard Parks, 32, an electrician in Atlanta, said he saw the price of regular gas jump at a Shell Station in East Atlanta to $2.69 on Monday from $2.51 on Sunday.

"I didn't think it would get worse overnight, but it just did," Parks said while waiting in a line to refuel on Monday.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed an executive order on Monday preventing gas stations from significantly raising their fuel prices.

In North Carolina, more than 400 consumers had filed complaints to report potential gas price gouging to Cooper's Consumer Protection Division, as of 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) on Monday, State Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a statement.

Many states have also allowed for an extension of the maximum number of hours truck drivers are allowed to drive in order to deliver gas products to the state.

Availability of fuel has varied across the region, with long lines seen throughout Atlanta, as well as in Nashville, Tennessee. Patrick Sheehan of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said over the weekend that central and eastern Tennessee have had spotty unavailability of fuel.

"There's a very emotional response to the headlines," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. "So you see false indicators to demand when people fill up tanks due to shortage fears and that adds another layer of complexity."

Pump prices in Alabama ticked up to $2.01 on Monday while prices in Tennessee rose nearly 3 cents to $2.13 from $2.10 on Sunday, according to the AAA.

Colonial, which has not said what caused the leak, resumed repairs on Friday after vapors delayed work and it projects a full restart by this week. The company is constructing a bypass that circumvents the damaged line.

Colonial, the largest U.S. refined products pipeline system of about 2.6 million bpd, said on Monday it gathered gasoline from Gulf Coast refiners last week to transport the fuel on its distillate line to markets throughout the affected region.

Shippers are also increasing waterborne shipments of fuel in order to make up for lost batches on Colonial and delays, sources said.

Larry Carr, 44, an Atlanta private contractor, was filling gasoline containers and piling them into the back of his Ford Explorer van just after topping up his tank at a Mobile station in the Grant Park neighborhood where it cost $2.49 for regular self-serve.

"Normally it would cost me $40 to fill her up, but today it cost $60 and I wasn't even near empty," he said. Of the gasoline cans, he said: "I'm going to take some of this to a friend who ran out of gas and get her going again." (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York and Richard McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Bill Trott and Marguerita Choy)</s>The broken gasoline pipeline that's caused shortages and price spikes in the Southeast is just days away from resuming normal operations.

The company, Colonial Pipeline, said Tuesday it's completed a 500-foot bypass to carry gasoline around the broken portion of the pipeline. It's currently conducting tests to make sure that the repair will work.

If it does, Colonial expects to start sending gasoline through the pipeline by Wednesday. It will then take several days for the fuel delivery supply chain to return to normal. The company said it has 700 employees and contractors working on the site.

The pipeline carries gas and other refined products such as jet fuel from refineries in the Houston area all the way to New Jersey. The leak's impact has been particularly severe in six Southeastern states that rely on the pipeline for a significant portion of their gasoline.

Prices in those states - Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- have spiked by as much as 20 cents since the weekend. Those states have have declared emergencies and relaxed restrictions on fuel transportation due to shortage.

The leak occurred on Sept. 9 in a rural area south of Birmingham, Alabama, on a portion of the pipeline that's 53 years old. Most of the pipeline was built in either the 1960s or 1970s, according to federal records.
The U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia declare a state of emergency over gas shortages as a result of the Colonial pipeline leak in Shelby County, Alabama.