here ya go, seems this may be much of the problem as to why there are shortages, the adm approved a reversal pipeline project which was started back in December. If they had just approved the Keystone, maybe this wouldn't have happened...
Propane industry group says it doesn't understand shortages either
The Propane Education and Research Council says it is interested in exploring the causes behind factors related to the supply shortage.
"At a time when U.S. propane production is at an all-time high, PERC wants to know what can be done to ensure that propane can be quickly and affordably put to use here at home, even during times of extreme weather," the group said.
To do that, PERC says it will examine:
• Transportation Infrastructure: The December shutdown of the Cochin pipeline in the upper Midwest coupled with the reversal of another Midwest pipeline that previously transported propane contributed to that region's tight propane supplies. As supplies from natural gas and crude oil increase, so has competition for pipeline access and resources.
"Measures must be taken to ensure that the proper infrastructure is available to move propane from large national storage facilities to local propane retailers, especially in the winter," PERC said.
Fuel Industry, Lawmakers Want Answers on Propane Issues - Farm Futures
Unfortunately for the propane industry in Minnesota, as well as the six other states that have direct access to Cochin, the pipeline will no longer be a supply option starting in mid-2014. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, which runs the pipeline, is currently modifying Cochin to move light condensate westbound from a new terminal in Kankakee County, Ill. Kinder Morgan is connecting Cochin in Kankakee County to Explorer Pipeline Co.’s pipeline, and product will instead flow toward terminals near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada.
Cochin reversal project creates pipeline pressures : LP Gas
Obama Approves Major Border-Crossing Fracked Gas Pipeline Used to Dilute Tar Sands
Although TransCanada's Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has received the lion's share of media attention, another key border-crossing pipeline benefitting tar sands producers was approved on November 19 by the U.S. State Department.
Enter Cochin, Kinder Morgan's 1,900-mile proposed pipeline to transport gas produced via the controversial hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") of the Eagle Ford Shale basin in Texas north through Kankakee, Illinois, and eventually into Alberta, Canada, the home of the tar sands.
Cochin Reversal Project | DeSmogBlog
