Nate Shinagawa, Dem. candidatate NY-23 on Seneca Lake gas storage: I stand with you!
By Cris McConkey August 25, 2012, at 12:19 am
Nate Shinagawa, Democratic candidate for the NY 23rd Congressional district, address a rally to stop a gas storage and transport facility on Seneca lake proposed by Inergy Midstream (aka “Inergy”). Video of the full rally an march is posted on shaleshockmedia.org.
Gas Free Seneca gasfreeseneca.com called a march and rally in Watkins Glen for August 17, 2012, and dubbed it a “People’s Action to to stop the Proposed Gas Storage an Transport Facility in the Finger Lakes” to convey the wider impacts and breath of Inergy’s designs for this region which depends economically on the wine industry and tourism, both of which would suffer by industrialization of this scale. Propane (LPG) storage in a salt cavern and risk of a brine spill is only part of the story. There is also the truck traffic, the possibility of a rail accident, or worse catastrophe. Corne Bayou has been on everyone’s mind. This is a populated area, with permanent residents and touristic guests, even more so during race weekend. Can you imagine evacuating all these people?
It is not only the storage and transportation hub for propane (LPG) that has folks concerned, but natural gas storage as well. Inergy LP has acquired U.S. Salt and is developing natural gas storage in salt caverns as well as solution mining salt. In fact, the Department of Environmental Conservation has increased the permissible level of chloride that can be discharge into the lake due to brine operations apparently to accommodate increased salt mining to create more cavern space to store natural gas and natural gas liquids. All of this needs to be examined within the larger context of the development of the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania an planned development in New York State. People understand the connection. They are worried, they are angry, they are getting organized.
And they welcome a candidate for Congress who shares their concerns and understands what it takes.”We will not stand down” says Shinagawa, “We will wake up. We will get up. We will rise up. We will do what we need to do to protect our communities, protect our lakes, and protect this wonderful Finger Lakes and Southern Tier community.”
“It’s not just the electoral system that’s important. What you need is a people powered movement to make real change happen …I stand with you, and when I get elected I will also stand with all of you.”
The new New York 23rd Congressional district includes much of the Southern Tier counties where Governor Cuomo would like to first allow fracking. If we all can hold things off a little more, the election of Nate Shinagawa in this district will give lie to any notion that communities here want fracking, regardless of “gas friendly” resolutions passed by some town councils without public input.