With no end in sight to the shutdown of a major pipeline, the governors of Washington and Oregon have declared emergencies as the two states scramble to head off looming shortages of gasoline, diesel and other fuels.
The 400-mile-long Olympic Pipeline runs from refineries along Puget Sound to distribution centers in Western Washington and Oregon. It usually carries the bulk of Oregon’s fuel supplies as well as most of the jet fuel used at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. But it was shut down on Nov. 17 after maintenance crews from BP, which owns the line, discovered that it was leaking. They have been struggling since then to identify the cause and make repairs.
On Tuesday, the company said workers had found the source of the leak, and had restored a 16-inch segment of the pipeline to service. But a larger 20-inch segment remained offline, with no timeline for full restoration.
Customers in Oregon and Washington have not yet seen sharp rises in prices or major airport delays stemming from the pipeline problems. Still, the potential for shortages to develop in the busy holiday travel season has prompted separate emergency declarations from the two governors. Bob Ferguson of Washington declared an emergency on Nov. 19, and Tina Kotek of Oregon did so on Tuesday.
The moves temporarily waive certain regulations, including limits on how many hours commercial truck drivers can drive, in an effort to speed the delivery of fuel by other means while the pipeline is out of commission. Mr. Ferguson said the Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma, the region’s largest airport, suggested that airlines fill their planes’ tanks before heading for Washington.
Alaska Airlines has about a dozen flights a day that are making brief refueling stops during trips, particularly on transcontinental routes. The airline said it had not canceled any flights because of the pipeline disruption.
It was not clear whether the leak, near Everett, Wash., had caused significant environmental damage.
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