OUT OF GAS
Cyber threat halts Colonial gas pipeline operations in Mercer County, nationwide >>
Mercer County is no stranger to Colonial Pipeline mishaps.
Colonial Pipeline Co. temporarily halted operations in Hamilton Township and beyond on Friday after being attacked by ransomware, the company announced.
“Colonial Pipeline is taking steps to understand and resolve this issue,” the company said Saturday afternoon in an updated media statement. “At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation.”
The Colonial Pipeline carries gasoline and diesel fuel from the Gulf Coast to northeast markets, including here in New Jersey.
Colonial’s pipeline system in Hamilton Township sustained major damage in October 2008 when an excavator struck the pipeline during a New Jersey Turnpike roadway widening project.
The 2008 debacle caused more than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel to spill onto the Evergreen Orchard Farm off Yardville-Allentown Road, The Trentonian reported at the time.
Following emergency pipeline repairs and an extensive oil cleanup, Colonial in 2012 entered into a settlement agreement with the New Jersey state Board of Public Utilities to resolve allegations it violated the Underground Facility Protection Act, records show.
The Colonial Pipeline runs through large parts of Mercer County, including Hamilton, Robbinsville and East Windsor townships, according to property records.
Given the impact of Friday’s cyberattack, Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried wants to hear directly from Colonial Pipeline Co.
“They have not reached out to us,” he said in a text message to The Trentonian on Saturday. “We have tried to contact them.”
Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin and East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov have not responded to requests for comment on this story.
The Colonial Pipeline stretches from the Gulf Coast in Texas to its northern terminus in Linden, New Jersey.
“The Colonial Pipeline System consists of approximately 5,500 miles of hazardous liquid transmission pipeline within the United States, including lateral and spur lines, and fixed facilities,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. “The system delivers an average of approximately 100 million gallons of liquid petroleum products throughout the southern and eastern United States per day.”