Pipelines begin sending fuel again

Jace Radke

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

The pipelines that carry gasoline, jet fuel and diesel to the Las Vegas Valley have passed inspection and were again operating this morning after heavy rains in California had forced a four-day closure.

Both the Cal-Nev line, that delivers fuel from Colton, Calif., to Las Vegas, and the West line, that takes fuel from Los Angeles refineries to Colton, were running this morning, fuel industry officials said.

Heavy rains forced Kinder Morgan Energy Partners to shut down the pipelines Sunday, after portions of the lines were uncovered by the water, Kinder Morgan spokesman Rick Rainey said.

The lines were expected to be back up and running by Friday, but crews completed safety inspections sooner than expected.

The Environmental Protection Agency had granted a waiver to Las Vegas-area service stations to allow gasoline to be trucked in as needed through Jan. 18 due to the temporary shutdown, said Peter Krueger, a director of the Nevada Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

The trucked-in gas does not meet the exact specifications of the winter fuel mix used in Las Vegas because it is manufactured differently, but any that is used will not cause any additional air pollution, Clark County air quality officials said.

Michael Geeser, spokesman for AAA Nevada, said that short shutdowns of the fuel pipelines to Las Vegas usually don't cause a shortage that would increase prices at the pump. He said a shutdown would have to last longer than a few days before a price increase would result. He expected no increase due to this week's stoppage.