LAS VEGAS (AP) — A California pipeline that was forced to halt gasoline and diesel deliveries from East Los Angeles to areas including Las Vegas and Phoenix because of a leak resumed operations Saturday, according to pipeline operator. .
The source of the leak was contained at its Watson station in Long Beach, Calif., and the plant began delivering fuel by Saturday afternoon, according to pipeline operator Kinder Morgan.
The amount and cause of the spill were under investigation, said Katherine Hill, Kinder Morgan communications manager. Clark County officials said they believe supplies will not be affected by the spill.
“As the pipeline is expected to be fully operational by this evening, I again urge Las Vegas residents to refrain from panic buying fuel,” said Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, who declared a state of emergency for to help mitigate the impact of the spill. .
Kinder Morgan said the leak was discovered Thursday afternoon at a company station near Los Angeles, and its CALNEV and SFPP West pipelines were shut down while the Houston-based pipeline operator worked to fix the problem.
The pipeline supplies fuel storage facilities in southern Nevada with unleaded fuel and diesel, according to Clark County officials. Another pipeline operated by UNEV Pipeline LLC serves the Las Vegas area in northern Utah.
Kinder Morgan’s website says its 566-mile (911-kilometer) CALNEV pipeline carries gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from refineries and marine terminals in Los Angeles through parallel 14-inch (35.5-centimeter) pipelines and 8 inches (20 centimeters) to the Barstow, California and Las Vegas area.
Hill said later that only the pipeline larger than 14 inches (35.5 centimeters) to Las Vegas was shut down.
Airports it serves include Nellis Air Force Base and Harry Reid International in Las Vegas and Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert, the company said.
Kinder Morgan’s SFPP West Pipeline runs approximately 515 miles (829 kilometers) to transport petroleum products from the Los Angeles area to Colton and Imperial, California, and east to Phoenix.
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