The state government of New York has begun a pilot program to store gasoline for use in emergencies.
A response to Hurricane Sandy, which slammed the US East Coast a year ago, the $10 million program, called Fuel NY, will store 3 million gal of gasoline on Long Island.
The state has a contract to use storage owned by Northville Industries.
The government called Fuel NY the first state-based strategic gasoline reserve in the US.
The pilot is designed to provide emergency fuel supplies to motorists and first responders on Long Island but could supply other areas of the state.
“In all emergency scenarios, the reserve will only be used as a supplement to market deliveries in order to maintain adequate levels of fuels during an emergency recovery,” the state said.
