Alan Springett
Springett Spirit Springs Farm, Morris, NY

Nothing so characterizes fractivists these days as the overblown and inaccurate rhetoric more typical of third-world politics than anything else.

I read, with bemusement, a commentary in the Daily Star by Mr. Dennis Higgins of Otego, titled “Third-World politics come to upstate New York.” It was all about the proposed propane storage facilities in Watkins Glen, New York.  I’m not sure where Mr. Higgins hails from originally, but it certainly isn’t the world of reality.  Why, you might ask, would I say this?

Because of how he seems to accept without reservation, and certainly without fact checking, the rhetoric espoused in the Seneca Lake controversy regarding Crestwood Midstream and FERC.

Third-World Rhetoric: Overblown Claims

What rhetoric am I referring to?  Let’s start with the population at risk.  The photo and Mr. Higgins’ text claims the Seneca Lake watershed supplies 100,000 people.  Actually, the  Seneca Lake watershed population is between 54,000 and 58,000 according to the updated Seneca Lake Watershed Management Plan Executive Summary (2014).

AP Photo: “More than 400 members of ‘We Are Seneca Lake’ blockade the gates of Crestwood Midstream to protest the expansion of gas storage in the salt caverns next to Seneca Lake.”

The caption would have you believe that 400 members of the “We are Seneca Lake” blockade were concerned about their water.  According to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s website, however approximately one in seven of the protesters at the Crestwood facility were actually locals (57 for those unwilling to do the math) leaving around 343 non-resident “citizen” protestors.  Isn’t it nice that those non-residents have so much interest in the safety of Seneca Lake water?

According to more recent information from the Schuyler County Sheriff’s office, Mr. Higgins’ wonderful protesters who are so worried about water, are opting instead of paying minor fines (approximately $250), for jail time (around 15 days each currently). With jail, court and transportation expenses, 72 arrested protesters could easily produce $100,000 potential cost to Schuyler County taxpayers.  This does not count the salaries of the personnel required to respond to illegal protests, nor the peripheral issues.

The Sheriff’s office also noted that a 911 call came in during the protest, and a deputy with both emergency responder training, and a defibrillator had been pulled from that vicinity to cover the protest.  Sadly, the patient did not make it.  Seems these protesters are not worried about local finances or other impacts of illegal action.

Third-World Rhetoric: Inaccurate and Deceptive

And, what are they protesting you might ask?  A natural gas well?  A natural gas pipeline? A natural gas compressor station? Well, not really.  What they were protesting was the expansion of a liquid propane gas and methane storage facility.  It seems, last year, that New Yorkers paid $100 million extra to buy propane to heat their homes and cook their food.  The enhancement of this facility will stabilize those costs in the future.  So, why the fuss?  Take a wild guess.

Now, about the water in Seneca Lake; one would think it was pristine from the language Mr. Higgins uses initially.  In actual fact, Seneca Lake has one of the worst water quality records of all the Finger Lakes.  Why does it have this poor water quality?  The consensus of the watershed management plans is primarily – agriculture.  Nutrient loading, invasive species and contaminants are the primary threats.

Mr. Higgins claims that the vineyards employ almost 200 people and pay $3 million in wages (Gee, $15,000 per year – what largesse!  That almost makes it to minimum wage).  He also states that the wineries employ over 1,000 people and pay wages of around $24 million Wow!  An average wage of $24,000 per year! Many wineries support the Crestwood project precisely because they realize the region needs more than just themselves to survive economically. Sadly, Higgins doesn’t.

Mr. Higgins was also quick to point out many potential hazards.  Is Higgins a geologist?  I am.  I have been one for over 45 years.  All rock contains fractures (often called joints), they are a natural part of all surface rock deposits.  He says ressurized gas could push salt into Seneca Lake and that it’s already the saltiest of the Finger Lakes (suddenly no longer so pristine!).  This might be a bit difficult since brine is pumped out to allow gas to be pumped in (it floats on water, you know).  A process called equalization.  Also, brine expression is a major concern of the NYSDEC.

Seneca Lake agriculture creates economic opportunity, draws tourism and gives the area character but also represents a challenge to water quality.

Mr. Higgins also claims 11 major failures, all in salt caverns.  This is interesting, since I found a very thorough British study “Failure rates for underground gas storage” (2008) which clearly states that only 11 salt cavern failures have occurred in total world-wide (four of which did cause eight deaths, total).  That’s a failure rate of 10^-5 per well year.  For Mr. Higgins, that is one failure in 10,000 per well year.  This is small, but significant, and requires a close review by the appropriate authorities.  Oh, yes, there have been 5 years of work on this at the NYSDEC, haven’t there?

Third-World politics is often associated with overblown and inaccurate rhetoric.  Well, one might consider from Mr. Higgins’ commentary that upstate New York is a Third-World country.  Many in NYC seem to think so.

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