Nineteen Americans arrested defending community, Seneca Lake, and world from fossil fuel industry

Concerned citizens from NC, NJ join local protest in NY to point out the global climate impacts of expanding storage, transport, and extraction of natural gas.

Videos:   http://wearesenecalake.com/protect-our-only-home-vid

Pictures: http://wearesenecalake.com/protect-our-only-home-pix

December 9, 2015 – Watkins Glen, NY – Nineteen people from New York, New Jersey, and as far away as North Carolina added their bodies and voices to the blockade at Crestwood’s proposed methane gas storage facility on the shores of Seneca Lake on Wednesday morning. They stood in an orderly line with banners reading “Protecting Our Only Home” and “There Is No Plan(et) B” across the entrance to Crestwood’s facility on Route 14 in Watkins Glen. This is the third blockade in the past week, timed to coincide with the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris. Over 400 people have been arrested in similar actions over the past year.

“Crestwood’s plans endanger the drinking water for 100,000 people, and the fracking industry’s extraction, transportation and storage of fracked gasses are major contributors to our planetary climate chaos,” said John Wagner, 62, of Pittsboro, North Carolina. “I am also here today as a small act of support and solidarity with Vanda Shiva, indigenous groups, Sandra Steingraber and others that are in Paris to try to keep the Climate Summit goals from being derailed by powerful corporations.”

Crestwood’s methane gas storage expansion project was approved by the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in October 2014 in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of Seneca Lake.

The facility plans to store natural gas and then sell it to urban areas such as New York or Boston during times of increased demand and profit. It is one of many projects, including pipelines, which aim to develop “new markets” for the current glut of natural gas from the fracking boom, committing people to using natural gas in the future. Natural gas is primarily methane, a significantly more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe.

Whether due to low natural gas prices or the ongoing direct action campaign, construction of Crestwood’s natural gas storage expansion has not yet begun.

“When my grandchildren ask me if I knew about climate change long ago in the early 2010’s, I will say yes,” said Richard Battaglia, 53, of Richford, NY. “I am standing here so when they ask me what I did about it, I will not have to hide in shame.”

“We need to stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure,” said Charley Bowman, 69, of Getzville, NY.

“The climate negotiations in Paris are important,” said Karin Suskin, 58, of Ithaca, “but words on paper take time to implement. We are quite literally ‘thinking globally, acting locally’ and stopping the fossil fuel industry where we can – in our own backyard.”

Schuyler County deputies arrested the nineteen at 9:40 a.m. as they blocked a pickup driven by Crestwood’s Director of Operations, Barry Moon, from leaving the facility. They sang “We are a peaceful gentle people / and we are standing for our home,” referring to both Seneca Lake and the world.

The nineteen protesters were transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, and released. The total number of arrests in the civil disobedience campaign over the past year now stands at 432.

The nineteen arrested today were:

George Adams, 65, Danby, Tompkins County, NY

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford, Tioga County, NY

Charley Bowman, 69, Getzville, Erie County, NY

Heather Cook, 53, Dundee, Yates County, NY

Richard Evert, 68, Princeton, Mercer County, NJ

Martha Fischer, 58, Enfield, Tompkins County, NY

Ellen Grady, 53, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

Jim Gregoire, 46, Geneva, Ontario County, NY

Ben Guthrie, 63, Covert, Seneca County, NY

Lyn Hamilton, 68, Princeton, Mercer County, NJ

Gabrielle Illava, 26, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

Astrid Jirka, 44, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

Nancy Kasper, 56, North Rose, Wayne County, NY

Kelly Morris, 55, Danby, Tompkins County, NY

Haley Pasquale, 24, Livonia, Livingston County, NY

Todd Saddler, 51, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

Karin Suskin, 58, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

Phil Terrie, 66, Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY

John Wagner, 62, Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC

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Read more about the protesters at: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/seneca-lake-defendes/.

Read more about widespread objections to Crestwood’s gas storage plans: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/nyregion/new-york-winemakers-fight-gas-storage-plan-near-seneca-lake.html?_r=0.

Read Gannett’s investigative report about the risks and dangers of LPG gas storage: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/watchdog/2015/06/26/seneca-gas-storage-debated/29272421/.

Background on the protests:

Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates since Thursday, October 23, 2014, including a rally with more than 200 people on Friday, October 24th. On Wednesday, October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested.  More information and pictures of the actions are available at www.WeAreSenecaLake.com.

The unified We Are Seneca Lake protests started on October 23rd because Friday, October 24th marked the day that major new construction on the gas storage facility was authorized to begin. The ongoing acts of civil disobedience come after the community pursued every possible avenue to stop the project and after being thwarted by an unacceptable process and denial of science. The protests are taking place at the gates of the Crestwood compressor station site on the shore of Seneca Lake, the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes.

The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry’s planned expansion of infrastructure across the region. Note that the WE ARE SENECA LAKE protest is to stop the expansion of methane gas storage, a separate project from Crestwood’s proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage project, which is on hold pending a decision from a Department of Environmental Conservation Administrative Law Judge on whether the matter needs a full adjudicatory review.

As they have for a long time, the protesters are continuing to call on President Obama, U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Governor Cuomo, and Congressman Reed to intervene on behalf of the community and halt the dangerous project. In spite of overwhelming opposition, grave geological and public health concerns, Crestwood was given approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in October 2014 to move forward with plans to store highly pressurized, explosive gas in abandoned salt caverns on the west side of Seneca Lake. However, despite ongoing activity on site, Crestwood reports to FERC that construction of the methane storage expansion has not yet begun.

More background, including about the broad extent of the opposition from hundreds of wineries and more than a dozen local municipalities, is available on the We Are Seneca Lake website at http://www.wearesenecalake.com/press-kit/.

Click on the thumbnail image to see the photo slideshow

For Immediate Release: November 25, 2015

Contact: Sandra Steingraber 607.351.0719

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29***

We Are Seneca Lake to Host Rally and Climate March in Watkins Glen as Part of Worldwide Mobilization on the Eve of Paris Climate Summit

Finger Lakes March for Climate Justice will spotlight renewable energy initiatives and call for a halt to fossil fuel build-out in the Finger Lakes; marchers will wear orange as symbol of emergency and safety

Watkins Glen, NY – Hosted by the grassroots group We Are Seneca Lake, the Finger Lakes March for Climate Justice will bring the global call for an end to fossil fuel investments and a rapid deployment of renewable energy to the streets of Watkins Glen this Sunday afternoon. One of more than 2,000 marches taking place in 150 countries as delegates gather in Paris for the World Climate Summit, the march begins with a rally at the Seneca Lake marina and then winds through downtown Watkins Glen to the foot of the Watkins Glen State Park gorge and back.

Martha Robertson, 64, Tompkins County Legislator since 2002, former kindergarten teacher and small business owner in Dryden said, “With our national politics hijacked by huge corporate interests, mega-donor money, and Fox News, local elected officials and political leaders can and must lead the way on climate change. We saw that succeed in the fracking fight, with the communities of Dryden and Middlefield making history and making law. Never doubt that your local vote makes a difference.”

Joe Sliker, 34, president and C.E.O. of Renovus Solar in Tompkins County, said, “Solar power has the potential to provide tens of thousands of times more energy than humanity could ever consume, while providing good paying jobs and dramatic economic benefits to upstate New York. We have reached an historic tipping point, and the time is now to come together with the shared purpose to revolutionize our power infrastructure, put good people to work, and permanently address the imminent threats climate change brings to our lives.”

Sandra Steingraber, 56, biologist and co-founder of We Are Seneca Lake, said, “From Seneca Lake to Lake Como, the people of the world—in 150 nations across all continents–are marching today to amplify the message that science shows—that 80 percent of all remaining fossil fuels must be left unburned in the ground in order that our children have a liveable future.  Here on the the banks of Seneca Lake, the site of so much contention over New York’s energy future, we declare our faith in wind, water, and sun. We turn our backs on coal, oil, and gas. From this moment on, we are looking up, not down, for energy.”
What: Finger Lakes march and rally for climate action with signs, banners, speakers, and music

When: 1 pm, Sunday, November 29
Who: Families, renewable energy advocates, opponents of fracking infrastructure projects throughout the Finger Lakes.  Speakers Sandra Steingraber and Robert Howarth will be heading to the Paris Climate Summit soon after the march.
Confirmed speakers:

• Cornell University climate scientist Robert W. Howarth, Ph.D.
• Tompkins County legislator Martha Robertson
• Renovus Solar C.E.O. Joe Sliker
• solar energy expert Suzanne Hunt of Hunt Country Vineyards in Yates County
• We Are Seneca Lake co-founder and biologist, Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D.

Where: Watkins Glen Marina on North Decatur Street, Watkins Glen, NY 14891. (Follow Decatur St. north to to its end, cross the railroad tracks and drive into the parking lot at the foot of Seneca Lake.)
Why: Seneca Lake is targeted by Houston-based Crestwood Midstream to serve as an LPG and gas storage hub for the Northeast, a plan opposed by 31 Finger Lakes muncipalities and more than 300 local business and that is the subject of persistent civil disobedience protest. In the past year, 400 arrests have taken place at Crestwood’s gates. LPG-filled railcars will travel a railway that traverses Watkins Glen State Park, passing within 60 feet of campsites and over the heads of hikers in the gorge via a 1937 rail trestle. The struggle for the energy future of Seneca Lake was the subject of a recent New Yorker video report and New York Times profile.
Globally, 2015 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history. The Finger Lakes March for Climate Justice amplifies and exemplifies the worldwide surge in climate action and is part of a day of marches, concerts, rallies and workshops spanning all continents. In Paris, where the government has prohibited the climate march from taking place due to security concerns in light of recent attacks in the city, people will join hands to form a human chain.
Visual interest: Marchers will wear blaze orange to symbolize the emergency of the climate crisis and as a direct response to an intimidating Facebook comment. (Background here.)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—August 26, 2015

Media Contact: Sandra Steingraber | 607.351.0719

photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/7th-generation/

video: http://tinyurl.com/ow7un6n

College Students and Great Grandmother Stand Up for Future Generations at Seneca Lake

13 Finger Lakes Residents, Including Students from 5 Colleges, Arrested in Civil Disobedience Blockade at Crestwood

Watkins Glen, NY – Led by college students and inspired by the Haudenosaunee directive to consider how our decisions will affect the next seven generations, 13 people, including a great grandmother from Yates County, blockaded the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream on Route 13 just after dawn this morning. They blocked two tanker trucks attempting to enter the facility.

The protesters held banners that said, “We Must Safeguard the Planet for Those Who Follow.”

Among the blockaders were two family pairs. Tamar Law, 20, a student at Cornell University, blockaded together with her sister Hannah Law,18, who attends Hampshire College. Liz Brown, 53 of Mecklenberg in Schuyler County stood with her son, Owen Senders, 23, a student at Harvard University.

Also joining the human chain was retired art teacher Donn Carroll, 65, from Ithaca, formerly employed at the Boynton Middle School.

Schuyler County deputies arrested the 13 at about 7:30 a.m. All were taken into custody, charged variously with trespassing and disorderly conduct, and released.

Today’s arrests bring the total number of arrests to 372 in the ten-month-old civil disobedience campaign.

None of the protesters this morning had been previously arrested as part of the We Are Seneca Lake movement, which opposes Crestwood’s plans for gas storage in lakeside salt caverns and which has been ongoing since October 2014.

Owen Senders, 23, of Mecklenburg in Schuyler County and a student at Harvard University, said, “Crestwood threatens us, Crestwood threatens those we love, and Crestwood threatens the lives of the kids we dream of one day raising in this region. Crestwood’s plan for massive gas storage comes in direct conflict with the vision of a better planet that we are fighting for. We are writing a different story for our species and our world, and this is the first chapter.”

Sheila Brown, 20, of Ithaca in Tompkins County and a student at Hampshire College, said, “Young people are taking a stand to protect the Finger Lakes Region. We millennials are facing a future of global uncertainty and chaos. We value clean water, air, land, and a thriving economy that works for all who reside here.”

Janie Meaney, 77, of Starkey in Yates County, a grandmother of ten and a great grandmother of three, said, “The dangers of gas storage in the leaky, old salt caverns in Watkins Glen are shrugged off by Crestwood. Children who live in Schuyler County are the basis for my decision to risk arrest to protest the debacle of endangering children and the ruin of Seneca Lake that provides drinking water for their families and neighbors. My children and grandchildren safely attended Watkins Glen schools, played and swam in Seneca Lake as did my grandchildren and as do my great grandchildren.”

Crestwood’s methane gas storage expansion project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last October in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of Seneca Lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people.

Those arrested today were:

Zachary Birnbaum, 23, Geneva, Ontario County (student, Hobart and William Smith Colleges)

Elizabeth Brown, 53, Mecklenburg, Schuyler County

Sheila Brown, 20, Ithaca, Tompkins County (student, Hampshire College)

Donn Carroll, 64, Ithaca, Tompkins County (retired teacher, Boyton Middle School)

Georgia Decker, 22, New York City, New York County (alumna, Hobart and William Smith Colleges)

Aidan Hodges, 20, Ithaca, Tompkins County (student, Tompkins County Community College Farm-to-Table Program)

Tamar Law, 20, Ithaca, Tompkins County, (student, Cornell University)

Hannah Law, 18, Ithaca, Tompkins County (student, Hampshire College)

Janie Meaney, 78, Starkey, Yates County

Owen Senders, 23, Mecklenburg, Schuyler County (student, Harvard University)

Sam Schmidt, 20, Interlaken, Seneca County (student, Tompkins County Community College)

Rachel Shapiro, 57, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Ray Vanek-Johnson, 18, Ithaca, Tompkins County (student, Tompkins County Community College)

Read more about the protesters at: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/seneca-lake-defendes/.

Read more about widespread objections to Crestwood’s gas storage plans: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/nyregion/new-york-winemakers-fight-gas-storage-plan-near-seneca-lake.html?_r=0.

Read Gannett’s investigative report about the risks and dangers of LPG gas storage: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/watchdog/2015/06/26/seneca-gas-storage-debated/29272421/.

Background on the protests:

Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates since October 23^rd, 2014. On October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested. More information and pictures of the actions are available at www.WeAreSenecaLake.com.

The unified We Are Seneca Lake protests started on October 23rd because Friday, October 24th marked the day that major new construction on the gas storage facility was authorized to begin. The ongoing acts of civil disobedience come after the community pursued every possible avenue to stop the project and after being thwarted by an unacceptable process and denial of science. The protests are taking place at the gates of the Crestwood compressor station site on the shore of Seneca Lake, the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes.

The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry’s planned  expansion of infrastructure across the region.

Note that the WE ARE SENECA LAKE protest is to stop the expansion of methane gas storage, a separate project from Crestwood’s proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage project, which is on hold pending a Department of Environmental Conservation Issues Conference held on February 12^th, 2015.

As they have for a long time, the protesters are continuing to call on President Obama, U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Governor Cuomo, and Congressman Reed to intervene on behalf of the community and halt the dangerous project. In spite of overwhelming opposition, and grave geological and public health concerns, Crestwood has federal approval to move forward with plans to store highly pressurized, explosive gas in abandoned salt caverns on the west side of Seneca Lake. While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has temporarily halted plans to stockpile propane and butane (LPG) in nearby caverns—out of ongoing concerns for safety, health, and the environment—Crestwood is actively constructing infrastructure for the storage of two billion cubic feet of methane (natural gas), with the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

More background, including about the broad extent of the opposition from hundreds of wineries and more than a dozen local municipalities, is available on the We Are Seneca Lake website at http://www.wearesenecalake.com/.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—August 13, 2015

Media Contact: Sandra Steingraber | 607.351.0719

photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/encyclical-v/

video: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/video/

Eight Arrested in Civil Disobedience Blockade at Crestwood Include Two from Schuyler County

Rev. Felicity Wright of Elmira’s Park Church Leads Recitation of Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Climate Change as Number of Total Arrests Hits 340

Watkins Glen, NY – In a peaceful act of civil disobedience against proposed gas storage, eight people from six different New York State counties, led by the Reverend Felicity Wright, pastor of the historic Park Church in Elmira and resident of Schuyler County, formed a human chain shortly after 7 a.m. this morning at the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream on Route 14. They blocked all traffic entering and leaving the facility.

The eight were arrested by Schuyler County deputies at 7:37 a.m. as they read aloud from Pope Francis’ recent encyclical letter on climate change, “On Care for Our Common Home.” All were taken into custody, charged with trespassing and released.

Musician Ed Nizalowski of Newark Valley accompanied the reading on saxophone, playing “Amazing Grace” and “We Shall Overcome.” He was not arrested.

Immediately after their arrest, two large tanker trucks left the facility, with deputy cars assisting, and one large tanker entered.

The blockaders held banners that said “What Kind of World Do We Want to Leave…” “…For Those Who Come After Us?” which are lines from the Pope’s letter. Their recitation from the Pontifical document continued the reading that began on June 30 and has continued throughout the summer.

Today’s arrests bring the total number of arrests to 340 in the ten-month-old civil disobedience campaign.

None of the protesters this morning had been previously arrested as part of the We Are Seneca Lake movement, which opposes Crestwood’s plans for gas storage in lakeside salt caverns and which has been ongoing since October 2014.

The Reverend Felicity Wright, 67, of Elmira, said, “Many of the early writers and thinkers—both Jewish and Christian—celebrated “God in all things,” where God is found in all things on earth and in heaven. It was thrilling to learn that many of the greatest people of faith could recognize God in birds, flowers, shamrocks, rivers — and so much more. These natural gifts are not themselves divine, but they are representations of the divine, and God expects us to care for them as the treasures that they are. So, I am here to worship, treasure, and protect the God that lives in the Seneca Lake waters, the God that nourishes our bodies with pure refreshment, and the God that calls us to be divine agents for what is holy, good, and true.”

Claire Holzner, 50, of Watkins Glen in Schuyler County, said, “I live one block away from Seneca Lake. I can see the lake from my front yard, and I walk along her shoreline every day. The lake is the source of drinking water for me and my husband, a lifelong non-smoker with stage 4 lung cancer. Why should Crestwood have more say than we residents of this region about what happens here? The Encyclical says that safe drinking water is a basic human right. That statement has real meaning for us in Schuyler County.”

Crestwood’s methane gas storage expansion project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last October in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of Seneca Lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people.

Those arrested today were:

Fred Conner, 59, Freeville, Tompkins County

Barbara Deitz, 49, Rochester, Monroe County

Jim Gregoire, 46, Geneva, Ontario County

Claire Holzner, 50, Watkins Glen, Schuyler County

Donald Kitzel, 51 Brighton, Monroe County

Elizabeth Mozer, 54, Binghamton, Broome County

Frank Potter, 73, Big Flats, Chemung County

Felicity Wright, 67, Alpine, Schuyler County

Read more about the protesters at: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/seneca-lake-defendes/.

Read more about widespread objections to Crestwood’s gas storage plans: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/nyregion/new-york-winemakers-fight-gas-storage-plan-near-seneca-lake.html?_r=0.

Read Gannett’s investigative report about the risks and dangers of LPG gas storage: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/watchdog/2015/06/26/seneca-gas-storage-debated/29272421/.

Background on the protests:

Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates since Thursday, October 23rd, including a rally with more than 200 people on Friday, October 24th. On Wednesday, October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested.  More information and pictures of the actions are available at www.WeAreSenecaLake.com.

The unified We Are Seneca Lake protests started on October 23rd because Friday, October 24th marked the day that major new construction on the gas storage facility was authorized to begin. The ongoing acts of civil disobedience come after the community pursued every possible avenue to stop the project and after being thwarted by an unacceptable process and denial of science. The protests are taking place at the gates of the Crestwood compressor station site on the shore of Seneca Lake, the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes.

The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry’s planned expansion of infrastructure across the region.

*Note that the WE ARE SENECA LAKE protest is to stop the expansion of methane gas storage, a separate project from Crestwood’s proposed Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage project, which is on hold pending a Department of Environmental Conservation Issues Conference on February 12th.

As they have for a long time, the protesters are continuing to call on President Obama, U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Governor Cuomo, and Congressman Reed to intervene on behalf of the community and halt the dangerous project. In spite of overwhelming opposition, grave geological and public health concerns, Crestwood has federal approval to move forward with plans to store highly pressurized, explosive gas in abandoned salt caverns on the west side of Seneca Lake. While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has temporarily halted plans to stockpile propane and butane (LPG) in nearby caverns—out of ongoing concerns for safety, health, and the environment—Crestwood is actively constructing infrastructure for the storage of two billion cubic feet of methane (natural gas), with the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

More background, including about the broad extent of the opposition from hundreds of wineries and more than a dozen local municipalities, is available on the We Are Seneca Lake website at http://www.wearesenecalake.com/press-kit/.