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Public Statement by We Are Seneca Lake Regarding Chaos, Danger and Negligence at the Reading Town Court on March 16, 2016

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Mar 182016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 18, 2016

Contact: Sandra Steingraber, 607-351-0719, ssteingraber@ithaca.edu

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv5SQAoeok8

Photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/pictures-reading-20160316/

Public Statement by We Are Seneca Lake Regarding Chaos, Danger and Negligence at the Reading Town Court on March 16, 2016

Watkins Glen, NY – On March 16, 70 individuals charged with disorderly conduct violations were scheduled for 5 p.m. arraignments at the Town of Reading Court in Schuyler County. All had been arrested between January and March at one of several peaceful protests against gas storage at Crestwood Midstream.

The court was unable to process this large number of defendants in a timely manner, and the courtroom itself, which holds 48 people, could not accommodate them. The court clerk ushered those with appearance tickets into the courtroom in small groups organized by date of arrest. This protocol compelled the remainder—including their loved ones, supporters, and assorted observers—to wait outside in the elements for up to three hours, even during severe rain, hail, and lightning.

While court was in session, Schuyler County Sheriff’s deputy J.D. Sworts locked the interior front door of the Reading Town Hall, in which the courtroom is located, and allowed no one into the public building (other than to briefly use the restroom), even though the town hall contains a large meeting space that could have provided shelter during the serious weather event that began shortly after 7 p.m.

The appeals of defendants locked outside of the building—who could be heard imploring Deputy Sworts and Town Clerk Alice Conklin to allow them to seek shelter inside the town hall while waiting for their turn before the judge—were audible to those inside the building.

Deputy Sworts advised individuals waiting outside to take refuge inside their cars. However, many defendants had carpooled and did not have cars on site. Others had been forced, by restrictions on parking, to park up to a quarter-mile away. Further, had they sheltered in their cars, defendants might have missed the calling of their names and risked a bench warrant for arrest.

Town Clerk Alice Conklin told one defendant, “If you can protest in this weather you can stand out in it now.”

By 8 p.m., courtroom decorum had completely broken down. Defendants, their supporters, and their attorney, Sujata Gibson, appealed directly to Judge Raymond Berry to allow those waiting outside in an electrical storm to enter the building.

In all cases, these requests were denied. Judge Berry claimed on the record that the sheriff, and not the Court, was responsible for the scheduling snafu and that the “town fathers,” and not the Court, were responsible for the decision to declare the interior of the town hall off-limits to defendants waiting to appear before him.

By 8:30 p.m., 42 individuals had been arraigned before Judge Berry, and defense attorney Sujata Gibson entered a global plea of not guilty for the remainder.

We Are Seneca Lake objects both to the reckless lock-out of defendants, who had no choice other than to appear at court at the assigned hour, and to the negligent scheduling that set the stage for such chaos. This is not the first time that the town hall (courthouse) has been declared off limits to defendants and their supporters during court hearings that take place during hazardous weather conditions. We assert that the physical safety of defendants is a prime responsibility of the court system.

With the help of our attorneys, We Are Seneca Lake is now exploring the possibility of filing a motion to transfer cases to a court that can safely accommodate all defendants, their supporters, and members of the press and public, with a law-trained judge outside of Reading Town Court. We are also exploring the possibility of filing a federal lawsuit for violation of due process under the Constitution.

The We Are Seneca Lake campaign opposes the expansion of gas storage in abandoned lakeside salt caverns owned by Crestwood. Since the campaign began in October 2014, there have been 537 arrests. Of these, 234 cases have been adjudicated (resulting in 176 total dismissals to date); 303 cases remain open.

On March 15, Judge Raymond Berry dismissed 112 violation trespass charges against 110 We Are Seneca Lake protesters after an investigation by Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph Fazzary determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

The list of those scheduled for arraignment at 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 16:

Bradford County, PA

Cat Rossiter, 63, Sayre

Cayuga County

Kerry Angie, 71, Aurora

Thomas Angie, 63, Aurora

Chemung County

Colleen Boland, 60, Elmira

Doug Couchon, 65, Elmira

Patricia Buttolph, 70, Elmira

Hervie Harris, 69, Elmira

Chenango County

Ken Fogarty, 76, Guilford

Erie County

Charley Bowman, 69, Getzville

Fulton County

Bill Kitchen, 63, Johnstown

Livingston County

Lyndsay Clark, 55, Springwater

Coby Schultz, 56, Springwater

Holly Adams, 56, Hunt

Bob Thompson, 62, Livonia

Jamie Carestio, 30, Dansville

Monroe County

Colleen Coss, 61, Henrietta

Paul Flansburg, 48, Rochester

Susan Hughes-Smith, 44, Rochester

Kit Miller, 53, Rochester

Dwain Wilder, 76, Rochester

New York County

Michael Bucci, 67, Manhattan

Onondaga County

Howie Hawkins, 63, Syracuse

Ontario County

Cynthia Carestio, 55, Canandaigua

Paul Passavant, 49, Geneva

Marty Dodge, 73, Canandaigua

Peggy Abbott, 64, Geneva

Angela Cannon-Crothers, 50, Naples

Schenectady County

Debb Guard, 61, Niskayuna

Pete Looker, 65, Glenville

Schoharie County

Elliott Adams, 68, Sharon Springs

Schuyler County

Daryl Anderson, 46, Burdett

Shirley Barton, 68, Mecklenburg

Phillip Davis, 63, Hector

Paula Fitzsimmons, 58, Hector

Sharon Kahkonen, 66, Mecklenburg

Beth Peet, 48, Hector

Wendell F. Perks, Jr., 67, Hector

Marie Ely Baumgardner, 67, Hector

Nate Lewis, 33, Hector

Seneca County

Michael Dineen, 67, Ovid

Kim Knight, 32, Covert

Carrie Fischer, 39, Fayette

Steuben County

Louise Sullivan-Blum, 55, Corning

Meg Krywe, 57, Arkport

Jeni Paquette, 63, Corning

Tioga County

Rick Rogers, 67, Spencer

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford

Gerri Wiley, 68, Owego

Wes Ernsberger, 68, Owego

Tompkins County

Danielle Angie, 37, Trumansburg

Caroline Byrne, 39, Ithaca

John Dennis, 66, Lansing

Ruth Groff, 64, Ithaca

Stephanie Redmond, 40, Enfield

Therese Araneo, Caroline

Mariana Morse, 67, Caroline

Tom Seaney, 66, Ithaca

Alicia Alexander, 63, Ithaca

Donn Carroll, 66, Ithaca

Ken Zeserson, 68, Ulysses

Arthur Godin, 66, Enfield

George Adams, 66, Danby

Stacey McNeill, 44, Ithaca

Ba Stopha, 70, Ithaca

Wayne County

Nancy Kasper, 57, North Rose

Yates County

Michael Black, 63, Lakemont

Alison Marshall, 35, Penn Yan

Lynn Donaldson, 72, Keuka Park

Reading Town Judge Drops 112 Trespass Charges for Seneca Lake Gas Protesters on Eve of Arraignments for 70 Other Protesters

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Mar 162016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 16, 2016

Contact: Sandra Steingraber, 607-351-0719, ssteingraber@ithaca.edu

Reading Town Judge Drops 112 Trespass Charges for Seneca Lake Gas Protesters on Eve of Arraignments for 70 Other Protesters

Green Party leader Howie Hawkins, among those facing judge Weds. evening, will speak at rally and press conference

Watkins Glen, NY – In Schuyler County’s Town of Reading Court, Judge Raymond Berry has dismissed 112 violation trespass charges against 110 We Are Seneca Lake protesters, according to an email sent Tuesday afternoon by Reading Town Clerk Joyce Ameigh to We Are Seneca Lake Attorney Sujata Gibson.

This ruling makes official a request to Judge Berry on February 10 by Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph Fazzary. Last month, Fazzary asked the Judge to drop the charges for cases where his investigation determined that the defendants either were not trespassing or there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them for trespassing.

Yesterday’s ruling marks the second round of mass dismissals in the 17-month-old civil disobedience campaign at the gates of Crestwood Midstream. In April 2015, 64 cases were dismissed “in the interests of justice.”

The most recent dismissals come after months of discussions between the prosecution and defense attorneys, who have long argued that most of the protests have taken place on public property and could not involve trespass. In his motion, the District Attorney said that he had reviewed the evidence and agreed that the 112 charges he moved to dismiss should not be prosecuted for trespass.

Defense Attorney Sujuta Gibson said that, while she is pleased with the 112 dismissals, she believes that “all of the trespass charges should be dropped now that it has been established that the property line was unknown and inaccurately marked at the time of the arrests.” Discussions and motions continue for the remaining defendants.

We are Seneca Lake will hold a rally and press conference outside the courthouse in advance of Wednesday night’s arraignments to discuss the recent dismissals and recent ongoing arrests.

What: RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE immediately prior to 5 p.m. arraignments for 70-plus Seneca Lake protesters

When: Wednesday, March 16, 2016, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Town of Reading Court, 3914 County Rte 28, Watkins Glen, NY

Who: We Are Seneca Lake Attorney Sujata Gibson; Green Party leader and former gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins; other defendants facing charges.

Individuals whose charges were dismissed on Tuesday are residents of 25 counties:

Albany County

Daniel Micah Morrissey, 28, Albany

Broome County

Bill Huston, 54, Binghamton

Cayuga County

Maryl Mendillo, Aurora

Maribeth Rubenstein, 49, Aurora

Chemung County

Bonnie Chollet, 70, Horseheads

Cynda Poley, 60, Elmira

Clinton County

Lauren Eastwood, 45, Plattsburgh

Columbia County

Kevin Kuenster, 60, Copake Falls

Cortland County

Colleen Kattau, 56, Cortland

Erie County

Charley Bowman, 68, Getzville

Fulton County

Bill Kitchen, 62, Johnstown

Kings County

Rufus Cappadocia, 47, Brooklyn

Josh Fox, 43, Brooklyn

Kim Fraczek, 40, Brooklyn

Lee, Ziesche, 25, Brooklyn

Livingston County

Lyndsay Clark, 54, Springwater

Coby Schultz, 55, Springwater

Bob Thompson, 61, Livonia

Monroe County

Colleen Coss, 60, Henrietta

Paul Flansburg, 47, Rochester

Neely Kelley, 37, Rochester

Arlene Leach-Bizari, 47, Rochester

Barbara Schlierf, 60, Henrietta

New York County

Michael Bucci, 67, Manhattan

Martha Hennessy, 60, Manhattan

Ontario County

Peggy Abbott, 64, Geneva

Cynthia Carestio, 54, Canandaigua

Lynn Cronise, 57, Bloomfield

Hannah Dickinson, 33, Geneva

James-Henry Holland, 58, Geneva

Laura Salamendra, 31, Geneva

Otsego County

Robert Eklund, 63, New Lisbon

Schenectady County

Pete Looker, 64, Glenville

Schoharie County

Elliott Adams, 68, Sharon Springs

Bethany Yarrow, 44, West Fulton

Schuyler County

Shirley Barton, 67, Mecklenburg

Gordon Bonnet, 54, Hector

Melissa Chipman, 57, Hector

Alexandra Doniger, 26, Hector

Lisa Fernandez, 47, Hector

Paula Fitzsimmons, 57, Hector

Lyn Gerry, 59, Watkins Glen

Janet McCue, 64, Hector

Daphne Nolder, 29, Hector

Johnno Potts, 34, Hector

Victoria Rasmussen, 42, Hector

Seneca County

Peter Arena, 50, Covert

Tony Del Plato, 67, Covert

Ben Guthrie, 63, Covert

Kim Knight, 31, Covert

Mariah Plumlee, 36, Covert

Amanda Postma, 30, Lodi

Barbara Smith, 61, Lodi

Steuben County

Nancy Cook, 62, Painted Post

Meg Krywe, 56, Arkport

Stephen Marcus, 60, Arkport

Dianne Roe, 72, Corning

Tioga County

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford

Jon McNamara, 34, Owego

Tompkins County

Lesley Adams, 57, Trumansburg

Sylvia Bailey, 65, Ithaca

Robyn Bem, 64, Dryden

Dan Burgevin, 68, Trumansburg

Krys Cail, 62, Ulysses

Greg Copeland, 54, Ithaca

Lisa DeBoer, 46, Ithaca

John Dennis, 65, Lansing

Josh Dolan, 38, Ithaca

Karen, Edelstein, 54, Lansing

Rebecca Elgie, 74, Ithaca

Tobi Feldman, 47, Ithaca

Linda Finlay, 76, Ithaca

Martha Fischer, 58, Enfield

Tessa Sage Flores, 66, Ithaca

Zan Gerrity, 64, Ithaca

Arthur Godin, 66, Enfield

Ariel Gold, 40, Ithaca

Neil Golder, 68, Ithaca

Ira Goldstein, 65, Ithaca

Loretta Heimbuch, 65, Trumansburg

Larry Hirschberger, 60, Ithaca

John Hoffmann, 62, Ithaca

Gabrielle Illava, 26, Ithaca

Joan Jedele, 67, Dryden

Rachel Kennedy, 39, Trumansburg

Nancy Koschmann, 72, Dryden

Kate Lamarre, 39, Trumansburg

Keith Liblick, 41, Ithaca

Margaret McCasland, 69, Lansing

Barbara Pease, 69, Ithaca

Mariah Prentiss, 43, Ithaca

Stephanie Redmond, 39, Enfield

James Ricks, 66, Ithaca

Lisa Ripperton, 64, Ithaca

Todd Saddler, 50, Ithaca

Mark Scibilia-Carver, 62, Ulysses

Jim Shaw, 64, Ithaca

Joe Sliker, 33, Ithaca

Ba Stopha, 70, Ithaca

Ann Sullivan, 68, Ithaca

Regina Teasley, 63, Ithaca

Phil Terrie, 66, Ithaca

Camille Tischler, 66, Ithaca

Irene Weiser, 56, Caroline

Ken Zeserson, 67, Ulysses

Ulster County

Andrew Feron, 51, Cottekill

Ryan Solomons, 23, New Paltz

Wayne County

Patty Campbell, 72, Rose

Yates County

Larry Martin, 65, Torrey

Michelle Van Coppenolle, 62, Penn Yan

Read more about the arrested 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

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Bill McKibben Arrested at Civil Disobedience Action Against Gas Storage at Seneca Lake

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Mar 072016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 7, 2016

media contact: Sandra Steingraber 607.351.0719

photos: http://wearesenecalake.com/methaneismadness-pix

video: http://wearesenecalake.com/methaneismadness-vid

press release: http://wearesenecalake.com/methaneismadness

Bill McKibben Arrested at Civil Disobedience Action Against Gas Storage at Seneca Lake

Famed author and climate activist joins 56 people from 20 NYS counties to form human blockade at the gates of Crestwood Midstream, demands halt to climate-damaging fracked gas infrastructure, as total number of arrests in sustained campaign hits 537

Watkins Glen, NY – The fight over the fate of the Finger Lakes became national today when best-selling author, environmentalist, and founder of the international climate campaign, 350.org, Bill McKibben joined the opposition. McKibben, 55, was arrested this morning with 56 area residents as part of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign against proposed gas storage in Seneca Lake’s abandoned salt caverns.

This is a developing story. At this writing, all 57 arrestees have been charged with disorderly conduct and released, except for Bill McKibben, who is still in the custody of the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office.

Organized by the direct action group, We Are Seneca Lake, the protesters formed a human blockade on the driveway of the gas storage and transportation company, Crestwood Midstream. During the blockade, which began shortly after sunrise at 6:45 a.m., the protesters blocked all traffic entering and leaving the facility.

In a public statement to fellow blockaders, McKibben thanked We Are Seneca Lake for serving as a “curtain raiser” for the larger global movement to break free from fossil fuels that is now unfolding in frontline communities all over the planet: “Today and every day there are places like this where people are standing up…. This place is so important because it’s one of the places where people are understanding that it’s not just carbon dioxide we are fighting, it’s also methane, that there are two greenhouse gases and they are both spurring this incredible heating that we are seeing.… If we can hold off the fossil fuel industry for just a few more years, this stuff will never be built again.

Also arrested today were eight Schuyler County residents. Among them were the Reverend Felicity Wright, pastor of Elmira’s famed Park Church, and Phil Davis, co-owner and operator of Damiani Wine Cellars on the east shore of Seneca Lake and a seventh-generation resident of Schuyler County.

Ranging in age from 30 to 76, today’s protesters represented 19 different New York counties.

At 6:45 a.m. this morning, the group unfurled banners that read, “Methane is Madness. Break Free from Fossil Fuels” and “We Are Seneca Lake. Can You Hear Us Now?”

The group was charged with disorderly conduct and arrested shortly before 8:00 a.m. by Schuyler County deputies, Watkins Glen police, and New York State troopers, and transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department.

The total number of arrests in the seventeen-month-old civil disobedience campaign has now surpassed 500.

Reverend Wright said, “Climate change is not only an economic and ecological crisis. It is also, for many of us, a moral and spiritual crisis. Pope Francis understood this well when, in his recent encyclical on the climate crisis, he asks, “What kind of world do we want to leave…for those who come after us? And the answer must be: a world that supports creation, and a world that allows us to be divine agents for what is holy, good, and true.”

Phil Davis, 63, of Hector and co-owner/operator of Damiani Wine Cellars said, “I will stand once again in resistance to this imposition of corporate will upon our people and our land and water. There is an attitude of arrogance and dismissiveness in the Crestwood communiqués–regarding environmental concerns, community safety concerns, area business concerns–that I find so offensive that I can’t stand by without joining to further the outcry of opposition. My family has been a part of this community for seven generations. I’m here today to lend my back and all my resolve to this fight.”

Gerry Wiley, 68, of Owego in Tioga County, said, “I am here today as a public health nurse to call attention to the most urgent public health crisis of our time: the effects of climate change. Carbon dioxide lasts a long time in the atmosphere, and reducing it takes time that we no longer have. The only way we can buy more time, while working on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, is to quickly cut methane by ending its extraction, production, distribution, and storage now.”

Crestwood’s methane gas storage expansion project was approved by the 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, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people.

Crestwood also seeks to store two other products of fracking in Seneca Lake salt caverns—propane and butane (so-called Liquefied Petroleum Gases, LPG)—for which it is awaiting a decision by Governor Cuomo’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

The 57 arrested today were:

Marguerite (Peggy) Abbott, 65, Phelps, Ontario County

Elliott Adams, 69, Sharon Springs, Schoharie County

George Adams, 66, Danby, Tompkins County

Holly Adams, 56, Hunt, Livingston County

Alicia Alexander, 63, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Daryl Anderson, 62, Hector, Schuyler County

Danielle Angie, 37, Trumansburg, Tompkins County

Kerry Angie, 63, Aurora, Cayuga County

Thomas Angie, 63, Aurora, Cayuga County

Shirley Barton, 68, Hector, Schuyler County

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford, Tioga County

Marie Ely Baumgardner, 68, Burdett, Schuyler County

Darlene Bordwell, 58, Penn Yan, Yates County

Charley Bowman, 69, Getzville, Erie County

Patricia Buttolph, 70, Elmira, Chemung County

Cynthia Carestio, 55, Canandaigua, Ontario County

Jamie William Carestio, 30, Hector, Schuyler County

Donn Carroll, 65, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Lyndsay Clark, 55, Springwater, Livingston

Colleen A. Coss, 60, West Henrietta, Monroe County

Phil Davis, 63, Hector, Schuyler County

Jodi Dean, 53, Geneva, Ontario County

Martin Dodge, 73, Canandaigua, Ontario County

Joshua Dolan, 38, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Robert Eklund, 63, New Lisbon, Otsego

Wesley (Wes) Ernsberger, 68, Owego, Tioga County

Carrie Fischer, 39, Fayette, Seneca County

Paula Fitzsimmons, 57, Hector, Schuyler County

Paul Matthew Flansburg, 47, Henrietta, Monroe County

Kenneth Fogarty, 76, Guilford, Chenango County

Arthur Godin, 67, Enfield, Tompkins County

Mimi Gridley, 60, Dundee, Yates County

Ruth Groff, 64, Lansing, Tompkins County

Debb Guard, 64, Schenectady, Schenectady County

Susan Hughes-Smith, 44, Brighton, Monroe County

Nancy E. Kasper, 57, North Rose, Wayne County

Bill Kitchen, 63, Johnstown, Fulton County

Sharon Kahkonen, 66, Mecklenburg, Schuyler County

Mary (Meg) Downey Krywe, 57, Almond, Allegany County

Nathan John Lewis, 33, Hector, Schuyler County

Peter Looker, 65, Glenville, Schenectady County

Alison Marshall, 35, Penn Yan, Yates County

Bill McKibben, 55, Ripton, Addison County, VT

Katherine (Kit) Miller, 53, Brighton, Monroe County

Paul A. Passavant, 49, Geneva, Ontario County

Leslie Potter, 72, Big Flats, Chemung County

Stephanie Redmond, 39, Enfield, Tompkins County

Catherine M. Rossiter, 64, Sayre, Bradford County, PA

Coby Schultz, 55, Springwater, Livingston County

Tom Seaney, 66, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Susan Soboroff, 70, Trumansburg, Ulysses County

Ba Stopha, 70, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Louise Sullivan-Blum, 55, Corning, Steuben County

Robert S. Thompson, 62, Hemlock, Livingston County

Gerri Wiley, 68, Owego, Tioga County

Felicity Wright, 68, Alpine, Schuyler County

Ken Zeserson, 68, Ithaca, Tompkins 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/.

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91-year Old Scientist and Great-Grandmother Blockade with Six Others in Valentine’s Day-themed Action While 20 Others Rally Against Gas Storage at Seneca Lake

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Feb 152016

91-year Old Scientist and Great-Grandmother Blockade with Six Others in Valentine’s Day-themed Action While 20 Others Rally Against Gas Storage at Seneca Lake

Watkins Glen, NY – In an act of civil disobedience, seven Finger Lakes residents formed a human chain across the north and south entrances of Crestwood Midstream, blocking all traffic from leaving and entering the facility this morning. Twenty other opponents of gas storage in the Seneca Lake salt caverns rallied along the side of the highway, reading poetry, singing love songs, and sharing chocolates and roses in a Valentine’s Day-styled protest.

Among those braving frigid temperatures to risk arrest was 91-year-old Martha Ferger of Dryden in Tompkins County.

Ferger, who received her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1949 from Cornell University, noted that she will become a great-grandmother in a few weeks time. “I am expecting my first great grandchild to be born later this month, and I am doing all I can to prevent the climate change that would make that child’s world hazardous to live in before the end of his or her life.”

Ferger was arrested in a similar anti-gas storage demonstration at Seneca Lake in November 2014.

All the protesters were part of We Are Seneca Lake’s ongoing civil disobedience campaign against proposed gas storage in underground lakeside salt caverns.

The seven civil disobedients held banners that read, “We Love Seneca Lake” and “Lovers Against Crestwood.”

The group disbanded before noon, and no arrests were made.

The total number of arrests in the sixteen-month-old civil disobedience campaign now stands at 480.

The love poems read to the lake included verses from the 19^th century ode, “To Seneca Lake” by poet and geologist James Gates Percival.

In a public statement, Margie Rodgers of Elmira described how the protesters were animated by their love of the lake and by the example of St. Valentine: “We feel duty-bound, as any lover does, to protect our beloved Valentine from harm. In this, we believe we are acting in the spirit of the original St. Valentine, who, according to legend, was killed while protesting the mistreatment of Christian prisoners in Roman jails.”

The 7 risking arrest today were:

Holly Adams, 56, Hunt, Livingston County

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford, Tioga County

Jim Crevelling, 70, Keuka Park, Yates County

Martha Ferger, 91, Dryden, Tompkins County

Wayne Gottleib, 57, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Sandra Marshall, 67, Newfield, Tompkins County

Barbara Perrone, 40, Caroline, Tompkins 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 23, 2014, including a rally with more than 200 people on Friday, October 24th. On Wednesday, October 29th, 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 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, 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/.

U.S. Vets Lead Civil Disobedience Action at Crestwood to Protest Seneca Lake Gas Storage. Green leader, former NY gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins among 13 arrested in human blockade

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Jan 262016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 26, 2016

media contact: Sandra Steingraber 607.351.0719

photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/veterans-pic/

video: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/veterans-vid

press release: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/veterans/

U.S. Vets Lead Civil Disobedience Action at Crestwood to Protest Seneca Lake Gas Storage

Green leader, former NY gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins among 13 arrested in human blockade

Watkins Glen, NY – Eleven veterans representing all branches of the U.S. armed forces, were among 13 arrested on Tuesday morning in a human blockade at Crestwood Midstream on Route 14 as part of We Are Seneca Lake’s ongoing civil disobedience campaign against gas storage in underground lakeside salt caverns. The protesters blocked all traffic entering and leaving the facility.

Among them was former NY gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins (Green Party), a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Hawkins said, “The massive gas leak in Porter Ranch, California shows the inherent dangers of underground gas storage. The shores of Seneca Lake—New York’s own Napa Valley—are the wrong place for a massive gas storage hub. The salt caverns are too geologically unstable. One accident would turn visitors away and ruin the economy.”

Also joining the protest were Schuyler County resident and U.S. Army veteran Nathan Lewis, who served in Iraq, and Colleen Boland, U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant (retired), who served in the White House during the George W. Bush Administration. Boland served an 8-day jail sentence in November 2014 for a previous act of civil disobedience at the Crestwood entrance.

At 8:45 a.m. this morning, the 13 ceremoniously unfurled banners that read, “Veterans Against Crestwood / Defending the Climate and Seneca Lake,” and formed a human chain across the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream, blocking chemical tanker trucks from leaving and entering the facility.

The group was arrested shortly after 9:00 a.m. by Schuyler County deputies, transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, and released.

The total number of arrests in the sixteen-month-old civil disobedience campaign now stands at 480.

While blockading, the veterans from all branches of the military made public statements about the duty they feel to protect water and the climate.

“I continue to be mindful of my past oath to protect against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” said Colleen Boland, who traveled to more than 20 countries while on active duty.

In her remarks at the gate, Boland addressed recent, accusations that Seneca Lake protesters are “outsiders”:

“When the science on climate change is ignored, when our political leaders do the bidding of the gas industry rather than protect us, people rise up. Veterans rise up. And when we do, we should never—in any instance—be called outsiders here in our own country, in our own state, in the regions where we grew up. Veterans should never be dismissed when we speak out on issues that threaten our well-being and the security of our loved ones.”

Jenifer Paquette, 63, Corning, Steuben County said, “From 1970 to 1973, I served in the U.S. Navy as a Personnelman 3^rd Class Petty Officer. Except for that military time, I have lived all of my 63 years in Corning, New York and feel a right and a duty to protect the air, land, and water that is my birthright. The Crestwood gas storage expansion is a threat to those basic rights for me, my son, and my granddaughter.”

Nathan Lewis, 33, Hector, Schuyler County said, “I served 2.5 years in the U.S. Army as a field artilleryman. What I saw in Iraq was that the war on terror is a catastrophe. What I see here at home, in Schuyler County, is that the fossil fuel industry is pushing our ecosystem to the point of collapse.”

The We Are Seneca Lake movement opposes Crestwood’s plans for methane and LPG storage in lakeside salt caverns and has been ongoing since October 2014.

The 13 arrested today were:

Elliott Adams, 69, Sharon Springs, Schoharie County (veteran, U.S. Army)

Colleen Boland, 59, Elmira, Chemung County (veteran, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army)

Colleen Condon Coss, 60, West Henrietta, Monroe County

Doug Couchon, 65, Elmira, Chemung County (veteran, U.S. Army National Guard)

Martin C. Dodge, 73, Canandaigua, Ontario County (veteran, U.S. Coast Guard)

Hervie Harris, 70, Elmira, Chemung County (veteran, U.S. Navy)

Howie Hawkins, 63, Syracuse, Onondaga County (veteran, U.S. Marine Corps)

Nathan Lewis, 33, Hector, Schuyler County (veteran, U.S. Army)

Peter Looker, 65, Glenville, Schenectady County

Jenifer Paquette, 63, Corning, Steuben County (veteran, U.S. Navy)

Wendell F. Perks, Jr., 67, Mecklenburg, Schuyler County (veteran, U.S. Army)

Richard Rogers, 67, Spencer, Tioga County (veteran, U.S. Army)

Dwain Wilder, 76, Brighton, Monroe County (veteran, U.S. Navy)

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:

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Seven Arrested in MLK Day Civil Disobedience Action at Crestwood. Blockaders declare solidarity with Californians suffering from massive gas storage leak in Porter Ranch near Los Angeles

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Jan 182016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 18, 2016

media contact: Sandra Steingraber 607.351.0719

photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/porterranch-pics/

video: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/porterranch-vid/

Seven Arrested in MLK Day Civil Disobedience Action at Crestwood

Blockaders declare solidarity with Californians suffering from massive gas storage leak in Porter Ranch near Los Angeles

Watkins Glen, NY – In his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In that spirit, and as part of the ongoing civil disobedience campaign against gas storage called We Are Seneca Lake, seven protesters from six different New York counties declared their support for the residents of Porter Ranch, California, where a massive leak from an underground gas storage facility has sickened and displaced thousands of families and shows no sign of abating.

The seven formed a human chain across the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream on Route 14 at 8:45 a.m. this morning. While blocking all traffic entering and leaving the facility, the group read a statement of solidarity with the people of Porter Ranch before their arrest by Schuyler County deputies at 9:15 a.m.

Today’s blockaders held banners that said, “Seneca Lake to Porter Ranch: Shut It All Down” and “Gas Storage Courts Disaster.” Porter Ranch activists use #shutitALLdown as their signature hashtag on Twitter.

All those arrested were transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, and released. The total number of arrests in the sixteen-month-old civil disobedience campaign now stands at 467.

The uncontrolled gas leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility—the single largest in the U.S.—was discovered on Oct. 23, 2015. Governor Brown declared a state of emergency on Jan. 6, 2016. Thus far, more than 2,500 families have fled their homes and more than 1,000 children have been relocated to other schools. Health officials now acknowledge they initially underestimated the scope of the gas leak and the possible attendant health risks. Self-reported health complaints include nausea, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, and headaches.

As We Are Seneca Lake protesters noted in their statement of support, the massive gas leak at Porter Ranch is a problem with no end in sight and no obvious solution: “People of Porter Ranch, we know your lives were upended because no one replaced a safety valve at the bottom of the well. We don’t believe we have bottom safety valves here either…. What affects you directly today could affect us directly tomorrow.”

Elizabeth Peet, 48, of the Town of Hector in Schuyler County, said, “Today as we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am reminded that my civic responsibility includes civil disobedience while my elected officials continue to fail to protect our lake and surrounding communities from dangerous gas storage expansion.”

Michael Black, 63, of Lakemont in Yates County, said, “I was born in Schuyler County and have lived on the shores of Seneca Lake for nearly a half century. I now live seven miles from Crestwood. What happens here happens to me as well. If the gas storage facility here were to leak—as is happening in southern California—I could be in danger. If it explodes I would likely be killed.”

The We Are Seneca Lake movement opposes Crestwood’s plans for methane and LPG storage in lakeside salt caverns and has been ongoing since October 2014.

The seven arrested today were:

Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford, Tioga County

Michael Black, 63, Lakemont, Yates County

Caroline Byrne, 39, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Angela Cannon-Crothers, 50, Naples, Ontario County

Kim Knight, 31, Covert, Seneca County

Stacey McNeill, 45, Ithaca, Tompkins County

Elizabeth Peet, 48, Hector, 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:

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Seneca Lake Stands with Porter Ranch: Shut It All Down!

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Jan 182016

Seneca Lake Stands with Porter Ranch: Shut It All Down!

Statement by Sandra Steingraber on behalf of We Are Seneca Lake, January 18, 2016

My name is Sandra Steingraber, and I have a message to the people of Porter Ranch, California from the people of Seneca Lake.

In his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Today, on the national holiday celebrating the birth of Dr. King, we gather near the shoreline of Seneca Lake in New York State, on a simple driveway to make our own declaration.

This is not just any driveway. It’s contested ground. In the last 16 months, there have been 460 arrests on this strip of pavement for civil disobedience in objection to the expansion of underground gas storage in old salt mines on the banks of our beautiful lake. Some of us have gone to jail.

Today, we affirm our network of mutuality with people who live three time zones away in a California community called Porter Ranch.

The wind chill on this hillside is minus one degree, and we are cold. But we know that people of Porter Ranch are suffering magnitudes more. The leak from Aliso Canyon underground gas storage facility near Porter Ranch has been pouring 1,000 tons of climate-killing methane into the air every hour for the past three months. We all share the same atmosphere.

We know it’s the biggest gas leak in U.S. history. We know it’s an official state of emergency. We know there is no end in sight and there is no clear way to fix it.

We know that the fumes from this single leak have sickened people and dropped birds, dead, from the sky. We know that the risk of a massive fire is so great that planes cannot fly over the site and cellphones and watches are forbidden on the site.

We know that more than 2,500 Porter Ranch families have been forced to evacuate and children have been forced to change schools.

Meanwhile, seven different efforts to plug the faulty well that is the source of the leak, has only further destabilized the situation, expanding a crater around the wellhead that threatens the possibility of a full blow-out. And the attempts by Southern California Gas to drill a relief well will take at least six more weeks—and may not work either. These are hard truths to hear. But we hear them.

And we watched closely last Friday when people gathered in front of the Environmental Protection Agency offices and urged the EPA to entirely shut down the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, which is not a specially engineered tank but simply a big hole in the ground left over from drilling and extracting oil. The people said, “Shut it all down!”

So, we want you to know that we are listening. And we, who stand right now, right here, on top of decrepit salt caverns that are slated to serve as storage vessels for massive amounts of pressurized gas echo your words back to you. Like your depleted oil field, our salt caverns were never engineered to hold natural gas either.

People of Porter Ranch, we know your lives were upended because no one replaced a safety valve at the bottom of the well. We don’t believe we have bottom safety valves here either.

Seneca Lake and Porter Ranch are tied in a single garment of destiny. What affects you directly today could affect us directly tomorrow. We look at the myriad injustices that you are now compelled to endure, and we see our own future.

Martin Luther King urged us to confront injustice and bend the arc of history in another direction. And he gave us some tactics to use in our efforts. One of them is non-violent civil disobedience. That’s what we are doing today. We do it to amplify your own message. And we do it in the fervent hope that we can change our story, that there will be no Porter Ranch at Seneca Lake.

We Are Seneca Lake and we join you in saying, “Shut it all down!”

Blockaders Toast to a New Year of No Gas Storage Expansion at Crestwood, Six Blockaders are Arrested

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Jan 112016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 11, 2016

media contact: Sandra Steingraber 607.351.0719

photos: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/year-of-climate-action-pics

video: http://www.wearesenecalake.com/year-of-climate-action-vids

Blockaders Toast to a New Year of No Gas Storage Expansion at Crestwood

Six arrested in civil disobedience action this morning

Watkins Glen, NY – In the first action of 2016, six We Are Seneca Lake protesters from five different New York counties toasted the New Year with apple cider, resolved to continue their campaign, and called for urgent action to protect the climate as they formed a human chain across the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream on Route 14 shortly before 9 a.m. this morning.

They blocked a tanker truck and a pick-up truck before their arrest by Schuyler County deputies.

Today’s blockaders held banners that said, “Crestwood = Climate Crisis” and “2016: Out with the Old. In with ReNEWables.”

All were transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, and released.

Mother, grandmother, and art teacher Lyndsay Clark, 54, of Springwater, Livingston County, led fellow blockaders in a toast:

“We Are Seneca Lake resolves to protect and defend this water below us and this climate above us from reckless gas storage every day this year. If there is no other way, we will peacefully stand in the way. 2016 is the year of climate action, and we hereby resolve to act.”

Environmental researcher and blockader John Dennis, PhD, 65, of Lansing, Tompkins County, noted, “Some of these natural gas storage caverns were drilled in the 1950s. They could fail and release methane into the atmosphere just as has the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage cavern that is currently releasing methane into the atmosphere near Los Angeles.”

The total number of arrests in the sixteen-month-old civil disobedience campaign now stands at 460.

The We Are Seneca Lake movement opposes Crestwood’s plans for methane and LPG storage in lakeside salt caverns and has been ongoing since October 2014.

The six arrested today were:

Michael Bucci, 67, Walton, Delaware County

Lyndsay Clark, 54, Springwater, Livingston County

John Dennis, 65, Lansing, Tompkins County

Michael Dineen, 67, Ovid, Seneca County

Lynn Donaldson, 72, Keuka Park, Yates County

Mariana Morse, 67, Caroline, Tompkins 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 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.

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Santa, Grinch join forces: both arrested at the gates of Crestwood in call for climate justice

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Dec 212015

Santa arrested at Seneca Lake gas storage facility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Pole residents warn world the end of Christmas is at hand unless fossil fuels are left in ground

Videos: http://wearesenecalake.com/santa-goes-solar-vid/

Pictures: http://wearesenecalake.com/santa-goes-solar-pix/

December 21, 2015 – Watkins Glen, NY – The Grinch, Santa, and his elves took a short break from their Christmas preparations today to visit the gates of the Crestwood gas storage facility to warn the company that Santa—and the world—is watching. His elves and local friends held signs saying, “Dirty energy = naughty, clean renewables = nice” and “Here comes the sun, go solar!” Santa and twelve others, including the Grinch, were arrested for disorderly conduct while stopping a truck pulling construction equipment. Their message: there’s still time to get on Santa’s “nice” list.

“Santa is very worried about climate change,” elves close to Santa said. “He paid close attention to the climate negotiations in Paris. Where will we live when the ice at the North Pole melts? The reindeer are already falling through the melting tundra in their feeding grounds. It’s not just an issue for us, but for all the people living near the coasts … as ice melts, seas rise. Santa does not want anyone to be climate refugees.”

The Crestwood gas storage facility proposes to store methane, propane, and butane in salt caverns under the shores of Seneca Lake. 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 far into the future. Natural gas is primarily methane, a significantly more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe.

“I’m here today to make sure kids know who’s being naughty and nice,” said Santa. “Crestwood has been very, very naughty by promoting the use of natural gas, which is making climate change worse. The people getting arrested at the gate, on the other hand, are very, very nice and are working hard to protect all of us.”

“I applaud what protesters there [at Seneca Lake] are doing,” said Robert Howarth in an interview with Evan Dawson on WXXI’s “Connections” in response to news that the North Pole gang was blockading at Crestwood. Howarth is a climate scientist and was a Cornell University delegate at the Paris climate talks earlier this month. “Coming out of Paris, we need to be carbon neutral by about 2035. Natural gas, and shale gas in particular is a disaster to what we are trying to do to reach this climate target…. Methane is 100-fold more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide when it’s in the atmosphere…. If we immediately move off of natural gas, it will buy us 30 or 40 more years before we hit that 1.5 degree temperature increase.”

Santa and the Grinch joined many friends from the area in welcoming the return of the sun at Winter Solstice, noting that solar panels have been particularly high on the wish list requests in the area this year.

“Seneca Lake and the climate of the world are more important than things that go blink or things that are swirled,” said the Grinch. “The people who stand on this line today show the spirit of Christmas is not far away.”

Schuyler County deputies arrested the thirteen shortly before 2:00 p.m. as they blocked a dump truck pulling a mini excavator from leaving the facility.

The thirteen protesters were transported to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s department, charged with disorderly conduct, and released.

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 total number of arrests in the civil disobedience campaign over the past year now stands at 452. 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.

The thirteen arrested today included:

Stefan Senders (Santa Claus), 56, Hector, Schuyler County
Charlotte Senders (The Grinch), 19, Hector, Schuyler County
Coert Bonthius (Elf), 62, Ithaca, Tompkins County
Krys Cail (Elf), 62, Ulysses, Tompkins County
Lyndsay Clark (Elf), 54, Springwater, Livingston County
Kim Cunningham (Elf), 59, Naples, Ontario County
Barbara Eden (Elf), 63, Ithaca, Tompkins County
Patricia Heckart (Elf), 64, Ulysses, Tompkins County
Gretchen Herrmann (Elf), 66, Ithaca, Tompkins County
Todd Hobler (Elf), 53, Buffalo, Erie County
Gabrielle Illava (Elf), 26, Ithaca, Tompkins County
Bruce Reisch (Elf), 60, Geneva, Ontario County
Gabriel Shapiro, 19, Ithaca, Tompkins County

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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/.

New Yorkers mark first anniversary of statewide fracking ban with blockade at Seneca Lake gas storage facility, call for end to fracking infrastructure buildout Nine arrested in “red line” action inspired by Paris climate march

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Dec 172015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lindsay Speer, lindsayspeer@gmail.com 315-383-7210

Video: http://wearesenecalake.com/frack-ban-anniversary-vid

Flickr: http://wearesenecalake.com/frack-ban-anniversary-pix

New Yorkers mark first anniversary of statewide fracking ban with blockade at Seneca Lake gas storage facility, call for end to fracking infrastructure buildout

Nine arrested in “red line” action inspired by Paris climate march

December 17, 2015 – Watkins Glen, NY – Over thirty people rallied at the gates of the Crestwood gas storage facility on Route 14 Thursday morning to mark the one-year anniversary of the New York ban on high volume hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – and to demonstrate resolve to prevent further buildout of natural gas infrastructure that uses fracked gas from other states. Nine of the demonstrators stood in front of the gates to block a Crestwood tanker truck from exiting, behind a long red line holding signs that said “2014 – No Fracking: 2015 – No fracked gas storage!” and “The line has been drawn: no fossil fuel infrastructure!”

“I was here a year ago when they banned fracking, and I’ll be here next year if this gas storage facility hasn’t been stopped, for the sake of the Finger Lakes and of the planet,” said Jodi Dean, 53, of Geneva. “We have to continue to stand up against the fossil fuel industry that puts all of us at risk.”

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the announcement by Governor Cuomo, the Department of Health, and the Department of Environmental Conservation that New York would ban high-volume fracking given serious public health and environmental risks. The state of Maryland and many other communities have followed New York’s lead, and science and economics increasingly show the wisdom of this action, particularly as it becomes clear how much methane contributes to climate change. The Crestwood gas storage facility proposes to store methane, propane, and butane in salt caverns under the shores of Seneca Lake. 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.

“With this red line laid down across Crestwood’s driveway, we declare that its plans to store fracked gases in abandoned salt caverns on Seneca Lake constitutes an emergency,” said Colleen Boland, who recently returned from the Paris climate talks. “We declare that these plans threaten our water, our children, and our climate.”

The red line motif emerged at the end of the Paris climate talks last Saturday, as 15,000 people marched in the streets of Paris. It signifies a commitment to holding society to the lines that cannot be crossed in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Eighty percent of fossil fuels must be left in the ground in order to curb climate change.

The red line motif also was prominent last weekend as 300 residents in Porter Ranch, CA demanded closure of the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. The Southern California Gas Co. field has spewed natural gas into the atmosphere since Oct. 23. It currently contributes a full one-quarter of California’s daily methane emissions. There have been hundreds of complaints from the surrounding community of headaches, nosebleeds, stomachaches, rashes, and respiratory illness from exposure to the gas and its additives. 1,000 families have evacuated. The company estimates it will take 3 months to plug the leak.

“Aliso Canyon is a clear warning to us of what can go wrong with underground gas storage,” said Tony Del Plato, 67, of Covert, “and how willing the companies are to ignore the plight of the communities around them, and the impact on the climate.”

Schuyler County deputies arrested the nine shortly before 10 a.m. as they blocked a Crestwood tanker truck from leaving the facility.

The nine 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 441.

The nine arrested today were:

Therese Araneo, 64, Brooktondale, Tompkins County

Jodi Dean, 53, Geneva, Ontario County

Tony Del Plato, 67, Covert, Seneca County

Lynn Donaldson, 72, Keuka Park, Yates County

Susan Kelley, 50, Hector, Schuyler County

Janet McCue , 65, Hector, Schuyler County

Rick Rogers, 66, Spencer, Tioga County

Mark Scibilia-Carver, 63, Ulysses, Tompkins County

Peter Tringali, 63, Trumansburg, Tompkins County

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.

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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 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.

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