We Are Seneca Lake

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UPDATE: At 5 pm, we’ll gather with music for a pre-hearing RALLY at Watkins Glen Harbor Park. The defendants will speak 5:30-6ish pm. Map available here.
Directions to rally: From Rte 414 (“4th St”) in Watkins Glen, turn north on Decatur St; go the end, to edge of Seneca Lake.

After the rally, come to the court hearing for citizens who were arrested for blocking the gates of Inergy, on Seneca Lake. Arrive by 6:45; seating is limited to 47. Hearing dates:
April 17: Melissa Chipman, Michael Dineen & Sandra Steingraber
May 1: Jim Borra, Spike Jones & Margie Rodgers. And Jeremy Alderson of the “Seneca 3” whose action took place in September.

Past hearings:
March 20: KC Alvey, Dennis Fox & Jack Ossont.
April 3: Crow Marley, Katya Andersson & Mahats Miller. They were all fined the max, $375/each. Many thanks to everyone who donated. We raised enough to pay the fines for all 12, although some chose to pay it themselves. Any surplus will go to support future actions.

Why the blockade? Why should we be concerned?
Seneca Lake supplies drinking water for over 100,000 people. This is threatened by an out-of-state corporation that wants to store massive amounts of highly explosive NGLs (Natural Gas Liquids including Liquefied Propane Gas or “LPG”), Butane and Methane (“natural gas”) in the salt caverns under the lake, caverns which have already been deemed unreliable for this purpose. http://www.inergylp.com/inergy-Services/NGLstorage/fingerlakes.asp

Inergy’s stated business goal is to turn Watkins Glen into the NE hub of transportation and storage for NGLs. They plan to massively expand infrastructure support for fracking and fossil fuels at a time when we need to stop dangerous global warming and climate instability. Inergy’s plan would industrialize our landscapes, clog our roads, adversely impact winery-tourism, and pollute our air and water. We say “NO” to Inergy, “NO” to more infrastructure for fossil fuels.

If you feel these citizens stood up for your interests, please show your support. We will post updates here. Thank you!

10:00: Protesters have linked arms and deployed a banner reading “Our Future is Unfractured, We Are Greater Than Dirty Inergy”, blockading the entrance of the Inergy facility in Watkins Glen. Sandra Steingraber PhD., biologist, author and Trumansburg, NY resident, is risking arrest alongside residents of Seneca Lake and local college students to oppose Kansas City, MO based Inergy, LP’s natural gas and liquid petroleum gas storage facility, which would lock in natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale region. The blockade joins a growing national movement to call attention to environmental injustices caused by unconventional and extreme fossil fuel extraction techniques, including Inergy’s hotly debated salt cavern gas storage facility proposed for Reading, NY.

10:21: Sheriff has just arrived on scene as eleven blockaders and their supporters sing: “We will fight on the pipelines, we will fight on the rigs, we will fight on the compressors, not a single inch we’ll give.”

10:30: Sheriff deputy: “I’m asking you to move, because there will be other people coming up here, and they might not be as nice to you as me.”

10:35: One blockader, on the truck attempting to enter the facility: “I’m glad the truck’s here, so we’re risking arrest for actually doing something.”

10:38: Police have asked blockaders to move, giving a ten minute warning. Blockade remains strong with another chorus of, “Not a single inch we’ll give!”

10:41: Five minute warning.

10:45: Truck attempting to enter the facility has turned away and left, truck attempting to exit has not moved.

10:48: Police confiscate banner.

10:50: Five arrests, four blockaders and one legal observer. Legal observers are traditionally respected in their role as non-participants, but one has been arrested for accidentally having one foot on Inergy property.

10:54: Second round of arrests, four blockaders handcuffed. State trooper arrives on scene, joining four other police vehicles.

10:56: Truck leaves facility, passing three remaining blockaders.

11:04: Mother, biologist and author Sandra Steingraber, Green Umbrella organizer KC Alvey, and local organizer Jack Ossont are last of blockaders to face arrest. The facility was successfully blockaded for one hour. Jail support is tracking arrestees and  our medics are making sure they have everything they need.

12:46: All arrestees released, cited with trespassing violations.