U.S. to build gasoline reserves in Northeast
NEW YORK - The federal government offered New Yorkers smarting from Superstorm Sandy some hope yesterday that they won't see a repeat of chronic gasoline shortages, announcing plans to create gas reserves to ease future weather-related disruptions.
NEW YORK
- The federal government offered New Yorkers smarting from Superstorm Sandy some hope yesterday that they won't see a repeat of chronic gasoline shortages, announcing plans to create gas reserves to ease future weather-related disruptions.
The two reserves - one for the New York City area and one in New England - will total 42 million gallons of gasoline and will be stored in leased commercial terminals around New York Harbor and Boston, the Energy Department said.
The $200 million project will be paid with proceeds from a sale of crude oil from the government's emergency reserves on the Gulf Coast. Officials said they hope to have the new gasoline reserves in place by the end of summer, before the start of the 2014 hurricane season.
It was welcome news for motorists who endured a shortage that caused long lines at gas stations across the region, left emergency responders without enough fuel and briefly required 1970s-style rationing.