Federal Government to Store Emergency Gas in Tri-State: Report

The measure comes in response to gas shortages following Sandy

The federal government is expected to announce a gasoline storage reservoir near the New York Harbor Friday to help prevent gas shortages like the one seen following Sandy in 2012, according to published reports.

The reserve, combined with another one in New England, will be built in response to the shortages and disruptions seen in Sandy's wake, reports the New York Times. Together, the two storage reservoirs will hold 1 million barrels of fuel and will cost about $125 million to build.

It’s not clear where the New York-area reservoir will be built.

Hundreds of tri-state area gas stations lost power when Sandy hit, leading to severe shortages and lines that stretched for blocks. Two refineries shut down, the Times reports, along with 25 of the region’s 127 fuel terminals.

Some stations were without fuel for a month, and the federal government eventually delivered 24 million gallons of fuel to the area.

The two reserves are the first of several expected to be built in regions that are vulnerable to extreme weather, the Times reports.

The system is modeled after the national emergency supply, which holds about 700 million barrels of crude oil.

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