Tom Shepstone
Natural Gas NOW   

The hypocrisy on the subject of propane that is exhibited by Gas Free Seneca’s “business coalition” is nothing less than staggering.  

If you think Gas Free Seneca hypocrisy on the propane issue is limited to its leadership installing a new home propane heating system in the middle of a battle against propane storage, you’re engaged in wishful thinking. There seems to be no end to it, in fact.

Following our report last week, we received numerous photos of propane usage by businesses who are listed by Gas Free Seneca as members of its “business coalition.” Some of the owners of these businesses have, ironically, been among the most prominent opponents of the proposed Crestwood Midstream storage facility.

Two Goats Buck Propane Storage

The headline a couple of weeks ago on the Time-Warner Cable News for Central New York was “Bar tradition aims to put a stop to proposed LPG facility on Seneca Lake” and here is an excerpt:

Hector, N.Y. — There’s quite an interesting custom at Two Goats Brewing in Hector.

“Everyone wants to see how the dollar bills get put up there,” said Jessica Rodgers, the co-owner of Two Goats Brewing.

The idea is to toss a bill with a thumbtack and get it to stay on the ceiling. The tradition started four years ago when the bar first opened and it’s grown ever since.

“We had no idea it would turn into thousands of dollars,” said Rodgers.

$3,009 to be exact. The money collected will go toward efforts to prevent a proposed LPG storage facility on Seneca Lake.

The article then goes on to quote the owner saying “”Considering most of the tourism we have here comes from Pennsylvania and the people who come up from Pennsylvania are dealing with fracking down there. They’re coming up here for the weekend to get away from it. That could turn around in one year.” All this time, I thought Pennsylvanians like me visited the Finger Lakes for the wine.  And, would someone please tell me what Pennsylvania fracking has to do with New York propane storage?

If you’re puzzled, perhaps the explanation is this: Rodgers doesn’t know the difference between natural gas and propane or how to spell h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e.  Why do I say that? Well, take a look at these two pictures of the Two Goats Brewery; one from their website showing an evening view and another daytime view below showing what you don’t see at night – a large propane tank.

Does it occur to Rodgers the propane delivered by truck to the Two Goats Brewing tank doesn’t grow in fields with the hops? That it has to be produced, stored and distributed? Or, is this a case of knowing and not caring, of pandering to what she and her husband suppose is the politically correct view of their trendy customers?

Planet Ithaca Winery Owner Opposes Propane He Uses

Then there is a fellow named Lou Damiani who owns Damiani Wine Cellars. He also works in Planet Ithaca as part of Cornell University’s energy conservation team, the task of which is to implement its Climate Action Plan. A key element of that plan (pages 14-15) has been to shift from coal to natural gas to run its boilers, which has reduced its carbon footprint enormously. But, watch this video at 26:20 to see Damiani in action fighting the Crestwood LPG storage project, which would help deliver another good alternative to coal:

Damiani was also quoted in another Time-Warner news story as follows:

“The best laid plans of engineers go awry and that impacts all of us here,” said co-owner of Damiani Wine Cellars, Lou Damiani.

The potential for hazardous leaks, explosions, and constant noise and light pollution from the industry have local business owners worried about the area’s tourism.

“By some tourist magazines, the number one lake tourist spot in the world, in the world, and what do we want to do? We want to make it the industrial hub of north east gas distribution? That’s going to help us? I don’t think so,” Damiani said.

Damiani’s outrage, though, is selective. He, like his friends at Two Goats, uses the propane he opposes storing. Here is the propane tank at his winery:

More Propane Hypocrisy

The largest winery operation on Seneca Lake displays similar hypocrisy. Glenora Wine Cellars has served as one of the meeting places for organized opposition to propane storage. But, like so many others in the Gas Free Seneca business coalition, its opposition is anything but consistent. Here’s a look at what we see on the north side of the facility’s operations:

Some Propane Pomposity

One of the other businesses on the Gas Fee Seneca list is one appropriately named the Pompous Ass Winery. It has helped sponsor anti-fracking and anti-LPG events and provided free wine to participants. The winery’s website features a frontal picture of its two buildings. The photo is taken a slight angle, though, making it impossible to see what is located between the two buildings. Here’s a better shot:

These pictures start to provide a glimpse of the stunning hypocrisy on the part of Gas Free Seneca’s business coalition, but there’s more. Here are some of them:

And. here is how some vineyards keep things from freezing:

Propane Powered Freeze Protection Fan in Vineyard

There are many more, but not every winery and vineyard is opposed to storage of the propane they use. Some who are closest to the proposed facility and the existing natural gas storage facility, in fact, have no issues with it. The hypocrisy of those who do oppose it, though, is nothing less than staggering. That seems to be a common problem with LPG project opponents and fractivists these days. If there is anything pressing on the consciences of these folks to say “maybe we ought to be more reasonable, given that we use a lot of this stuff” it’s not readily apparent. No, what we have is hypocrisy on steriods. But, then again, that’s the way it always is with shale gas stories isn’t it?