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. 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. “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. 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. 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. “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.
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.