Alabama Fuel Pipeline Leak Causes Headaches For Tennesseans As Gov. Declares State of Emergency

Gov. Bill Haslam issued an executive order Friday allowing fuel-truck drivers in Tennessee to exceed hourly limits, in an effort to prevent a gas shortage after a massive gas leak in Alabama.

Someone smelled gas in rural Shelby County, Ala., south of Birmingham, last week, according to Colonial Pipeline Company, forcing the shutdown of "Line 1," the major pipeline pumping fuel from Houston to New York. Colonial says the pipe is being repaired and should be operational next week, but in the meantime, the shutdown will results in shortages and likely higher fuel prices at points north of Birmingham. Tennessee is expected to be one of the first states that sees the price surge.

Here's a list of Nashville-area stations that are out of fuel.

Gas prices have stayed low throughout the summer, regularly sliding below the $2 mark, but slight increases are already starting to show. Thursday's average fuel price in the Nashville area was $2.07 and that was up to $2.09 by midday Friday and reached $2.15 by 6 p.m.

"This is a precautionary measure as we are not currently seeing any widespread unavailability of petroleum in Tennessee,” the governor said. “We urge Tennesseans to maintain their normal fuel purchasing and driving patterns to help prevent any potential impacts on our fuel supply while the pipeline undergoes repairs.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has relaxed some regulations in an effort to prevent a shortage and the governors of Alabama and Georgia have implemented emergency measures, as well.

Image via Shutterstock.