It’s over! Crestwood has officially been denied a permit for expanded gas storage on Seneca Lake (see below)! This fight has dragged on or what, eight years? Personally, I am totally glad to be done with it and am ready to go back to just being an old curmudgeon on a farm.

Jeremy Weir Alderson
editor & publisher
NFA News

Download the DCS handout that many people used to contact Governor Cuomo about this important issue. Thanks for making your voice heard! We were successful!

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration on Thursday rejected a long-pending plan to store propane gas in caverns on Seneca Lake’s western shore, denying Crestwood Midstream Partners’ nine-year push for a permit to make the facility a reality.

Basil Seggos, the state’s environmental conservation commissioner, issued a 30-page ruling denying the request from a Crestwood subsidiary that was looking to store up to 1.5 million barrels of liquefied propane underground near the village of Watkins Glen.

In his ruling, Seggos said the project “is not permittable” in part because it is “inconsistent with the character of the local and regional Finger Lakes community.”

“The project before me involves significant adverse unmitigated impacts with respect to local and regional community character in this area of New York State,” Seggos wrote.

A spokeswoman for Crestwood, a Houston-based company that specializes in transporting oil and gas, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The ruling blocks Crestwood’s ability to move forward with the project, which the company had pursued since late 2009 and claimed would boost the availability of propane throughout the Northeast.

The company faced an aggressive pushback effort from the start from environmental groups and local businesses and winery owners who feared the caverns would alter their quality of life in the Finger Lakes, which relies heavily on tourism.

At least twice, Crestwood pared back its plans.

Originally, the company had proposed storing 2.1 million million barrels of liquid propane and butane at the site but dropped the plans for butane in 2016.

And last year, Arlington Storage Co., another Crestwood subsidiary, scrapped a parallel proposal to expand natural-gas storage at the caverns.

Seggos’ decision was a major win for the opponents who fought Crestwood’s planned facility for years, raising various concerns about the safety of the caverns and the potential the facility could negatively impact the Finger Lakes.

Dozens of protesters were arrested over the years for blocking the entrances to the caverns as a way of speaking out against the project.

Three organizations intervened in the Crestwood subsidiary’s application process: Seneca Lake Communities, Gas Free Seneca and the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, which all had urged Seggos to reject the proposal.

Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Gas Free Seneca and a leader of the opposition to Crestwood’s proposal, praised the Cuomo administration’s decision.

“This is truly a great day for our region, and we thank everyone who helped make this day possible,” Taylor said in a statement.

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you that David can’t beat Goliath.”

There were signs the Crestwood plan was in trouble in recent months.

In May, the company’s subsidiary, Finger Lakes LPG Storage LLC, sent a letter to Seggos revealing there were fractures in a portion of the caverns and that leaks had been detected.

The project was dealt a further blow Monday when the Schuyler County Legislature rescinded its support for the project after twice voting in favor of it previously.

At least seven towns in the region, including Geneva, Caroline and Waterloo, passed resolutions opposing the project.

Those resolutions were cited by Seggos in his decision.

“The widespread opposition of municipalities in the area, from the village and town to the county level, as reflected in the adopted resolutions and motions noted above, underscores the position that this proposed project does not comport with the character of the community,” Seggos wrote.

Deborah Goldberg, an attorney for Earthjustice, a non-profit that helped represent opponents of the facility, called Seggos’ decision a victory for the people of the Finger Lakes.

“We heartily thank the DEC officials who took the time to thoroughly analyze the proposal before them and conclude that this project poses too great a threat to move forward,” Goldberg said in a statement.