In upstate New York, residents opposed to the storage of natural gas in underground salt caverns at Seneca Lake have been dealt a blow by federal regulators. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has extended a permit allowing a subsidiary of the Texas-based company Crestwood Midstream another two years to expand its natural gas storage facility in the salt caverns. Opponents of the plan say Seneca Lake provides drinking water to 100,000 people in the heart of New York’s scenic wine country. More than 500 protesters have been arrested protesting the gas storage plans, which they say could lead to a disastrous leak and threaten public health. In New York City Monday, more than 100 people rallied outside the shareholders meeting of Con Edison to protest the utility’s plan to jointly own the gas storage facility. Seneca County farmer Jan Quarles invoked the recent methane leak in California, where 100,000 tons of methane leaked from an underground storage site.

Jan Quarles: “Does Con Ed shareholders and ratepayers really want this risk? The methane leak in Porter Ranch, California, was a complete disaster. It forced 5,000 people to evacuate. And SoCalGas is being sued for over $2 billion. New York cannot afford that.”