Reading chief says 'Enough!' about Crestwood

Jul 15, 2015 at 05:59 am by Observer-Review


Reading chief says 'Enough!' about Crestwood ADVERTISEMENT

Reading chief says 'Enough!' about Crestwood

READING--Despite the efforts of a group of Reading residents, the Reading town board refused to hear any public comment regarding the Crestwood gas storage project at their Wednesday, July 8 meeting. Following a press conference outside the town hall, Supervisor Marvin Switzer told the audience of some 40 people and press, "We are not going to have any comment on Crestwood at all." This comes after two months of residents attempting to convince the board to issue a letter of concern about the project to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
The group refers to themselves as Concerned Reading Residents (CRR), who have worked to gather some 230 signatures from those who live in the town who are concerned about the salt cavern gas storage project along Seneca Lake. While bed and breakfast owner Gita Devi was permitted to leave 50 signatures with the board Wednesday night, Switzer attempted to cut off resident Tamre Jankowski as she read the board an update on their campaign. As Jankowski continued to talk, Switzer slammed his hand on the table and shouted "Enough!" to end the presentation, informing Jankowski "you got our attention."
Switzer said the group was disrespecting the order to not discuss Crestwood, adding the town has heard these same discussions at their last few meetings. The meeting lasted 32 minutes before adjourning without further mention of Crestwood by the board.
Prior to the outburst, Devi had briefly discussed an order by the town to not conduct a survey at the town dump, claiming the town cannot restrict access when it is open to the public. Switzer stated the town attorney said it is not legal, as there is a safety issue with the surveyors walking around the area when vehicles are going in and out.
"You can't do it on our property," Switzer said, later adding, "I'm not going to argue with you," when Devi persisted.
The press conference prior to the meeting included statements by Jankowski, Devi, Kaye Newbury, Barbara Coon and Bill Boychuck. Jankowski said some 18 people spoke against the Crestwood liquified petroleum gas (LPG) at the June 10 board meeting, adding the group's lawyer had also spoken at the May board meeting encouraging the town to send a letter of concern to the DEC. She said 28 Finger Lakes municipalities have passed resolutions opposing Crestwood's plan to store 88.2 million gallons of liquid propane and butane in salt caverns under the shores of Seneca Lake. Jankowski mentioned the number of signatures CRR has collected now amounts to more than 60 percent of the Reading voters in the last election.
"The LPG project is located within an area designated in the town of Reading Land Use Law as the Seneca Lake Protection Area," said Newbury, a seasonal resident of Reading. "Within this area, certain uses are prohibited for the protection of the lake, including the storage of hazardous substances. LPG is by definition a hazardous substance. Crestwood's project is not consistent with the community character of the town as set forth in the Land Use Law and the town's comprehensive plan."

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