Colonial Pipeline

Colonial Pipeline

Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, "is the largest U.S. refined products pipeline system and can carry more than 3 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel between the U.S. Gulf Coast and the New York Harbor area." The company was founded in 1961 and construction of the pipeline began in 1962. The pipeline is 5,500-miles (8,850-km) long.Colonial had seven spills in four years in the late 20th century, three of which (1996 to 1999) caused significant environmental damage to waterways in the Southeast. The Environmental Protection Agency alleged these were the result of gross negligence, and in 2000 filed a complaint for violations of the Clean Water Act against Colonial. They reached a settlement in 2003 which included a civil penalty to Colonial of $34 million. The settlement was governed by a consent decree by which Colonial would upgrade environmental protections, at a cost of $30 million. In 2020, Colonial had one of the largest gasoline spills from a pipelines ever, at 1.2 million gallons, in a nature preserve in Huntersville, North Carolina.In 2021, Colonial was the subject of a malware cyberattack that caused a shutdown of their operations.

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