In upstate New York, residents formed a human blockade at a natural gas facility Thursday to protest a planned expansion of natural gas storage in the Finger Lakes region. The Texas-based company Crestwood Midstream is due to begin construction today as part of a plan to expand storage of natural gas in underground salt caverns on the shores of Seneca Lake. The lake provides drinking water to 100,000 people. Protesters, including the biologist, author and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, say the plan poses major health and safety risks.

Sandra Steingraber: “Even though outstanding questions have been raised by scientists and the public alike about the inherent instability of these caverns and the possible fault lines and accidents that can happen here, a lot of that data are hidden away from us. And yet we are being compelled to assume the risks without being able to offer our informed consent.”

Residents plan to rally again today. Earlier this month, an investigation revealed the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo edited and delayed a federal study that revealed risks associated with fracking — a method of extracting natural gas. According to Capital New York, the edited version of the report removed a reference to the risks of storing gas underground.