Gasoline shortages, housing problems, power slowly returning

• Hess has used generator power to resume operating Port Reading’s truck rack, and marine operations there have resumed on a limited basis while an assessment of the factory is carried out.
• On Friday, DHS issued a waiver to the Jones Act, allowing foreign oil tankers from the Gulf of Mexico to enter Northeastern ports; Governor Cuomo waived tax regulations on tankers in New York harbor; DOE lent two million gallons of heating fuel from its strategic reserve to the military; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waived clean diesel requirements in New York City and Pennsylvania. An earlier clean diesel waiver was issued for New Jersey.
• Colonial Pipeline, a key oil product supply line to the Northeast, has resumed shipments at 700,000 bpd, or near full capacity. Colonial’s main pipeline into northern New Jersey is back at full operational capability, bringing nearly thirty million gallons of fuel a day to the region.
• Buckeye Partners said on Friday its main terminal in Linden was reconnected to its power supply and fully operational by noon on Friday; and Magellan Midstream Partners restored full operations in Delaware and Connecticut.

Power

• More New Yorkers got power Saturday for the first time since Sandy struck. Power has been restored to about 60 percent of the New York metropolitan area, with about 900,000 still without electricity, including about 550,000 on Long Island.
• About 2.6 million people remained without power in six states after Sandy came ashore Monday night.
• About 80 percent of New York City’s subway service has been restored

Housing

• Many residents were left homeless after the devastation from last week’s storm, and New York-area officials began focusing on Sunday on another weather-related factor that might make the problems even worse: colder weather that is moving into the region.
• In New York, 30,000 to 40,000 people, mainly residents of public housing, will have to find new homes, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday. Bloomberg compared it to the situation after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. “I don’t know that anybody has ever taken this number of people and found housing for them overnight,” the mayor said. 
• Many residents in New Jersey, on Long Island, and in Connecticut face a similar problem. “This is going to be a massive, massive housing problem,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Other news

• In Washington, President Barack Obama visited the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an update on superstorm recovery efforts and said, “there’s nothing more important than us getting this right.” Obama cited the need to restore power; pump out water, particularly from electric substations; ensure that basic needs are addressed; remove debris; and get federal resources in place to help transportation systems come back on line.
• The overall death toll was 105, including 41 in New York City.
• The Sunday Mew York Marathon was cancelled. More than half of the 40,000 athletes were from out of town. Their entry fees were paid. Their airline tickets were purchased. Their friends and family had hotel rooms.
• ING, the financial company that is the title sponsor of the marathon, said it supported the decision to cancel. The firm’s charitable giving arm has made a $500,000 contribution to help with relief and recovery efforts and is matching employee donations.
• Sponsor Poland Spring said it would donate the bottled water earmarked for the marathon to relief agencies, more than 200,000 bottles.
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would make public a list of when New Jersey utility companies intend to restore power to each community. Even if they end up working faster or slower, he said, residents will have a sense of when power will be restored so they can plan their lives a bit better.
• Commuter rail operator NJ Transit said it would have more service restored in time for the workweek to start Monday.
• Most of Atlantic City’s casinos reopened, and many school districts decided to hold classes on Thursday and Friday, days previously reserved for the New Jersey Education Association’s annual conference, which has been canceled.

New York and New Jersey bore the brunt of Sandy’s destruction, but at its peak, the storm reached 1,000 miles across, killed more than 100 people in ten states, knocked out power to 8.5 million, and canceled nearly 20,000 flights. More than twelve inches of rain fell in Easton, Maryland, and thirty-four inches of snow fell in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Damage has been estimated $50 billion, making Sandy the second most expensive storm in U.S. history, behind Hurricane Katrina.