Missouri-based propane marketing and distribution company Inergy LP, is planning to build a $40 million storage facility in Schuyler County's Reading Center that will include both rail and truck transfer capabilities, according to an October 13 posting on the stargazette.com (which covers local news in and around Elmira, New York.)
However, residents living the area of this proposed project have concerns about the facility's safety and necessity. Meanwhile, the Reading Town Planning Board has a public hearing regarding the project slated for October 14, at 7:30PM at the town hall, 3914 county Route 28.
Barry Cigich, Inergy's Vice President of Operations, stated that the plans call for storing propane and/or butane in underground salt caverns currently owned by US Salt (a subsidiary of Inergy, located in Watkins Glen, NY.)
"Texas Eastern Pipeline Products Company has a facility where they also store propane; we would like to use their pipe to get the propane into our facility," Cigich said. "We’re looking at a rail facility to get butane and propane in through rail car; we would store (it) in spring and summer, and during late fall and winter, ship out for use."
Inergy’s target is to store up 2.5 billion gallons of propane underground. The facility will also have tanks above ground, which will be used primarily for transferring the liquid fuel to transport vehicles, according to Cigich. Inergy has applied for the appropriate permits; this project should take from 6-9 months to complete, as Inergy’s goal is to have it operational by the 2010 storage season (April or May) of next year. Cigich added that Inergy is negotiating on supply contracts with wholesale fuel vendors that will pay (Inergy) to store the fuel at its proposed Reading Center facility.
Currently, Inergy also operates storage facilities in Bath and Savona, which is the primary driver behind residents questioning the new storage facility’s need. "They already bring the propane in there by rail…do we need to duplicate that here?" suggested Richard Hughey, who lives near the proposed building site. "The proposal includes drilling the new salt cavern pipelines and a 25-acre pond to use to hold the brine water needed to force the gas up."
The reluctance on the part of the residents is well-founded; the holding pond carries the potential to leak into Seneca Lake, while the entire operation runs the risk of accidents that could cause dangerous explosions.
Schuyler County and Watkins Glen are considered part of the Finger Lakes district of New York State (roughly thirty minutes from Elmira.) Salt was discovered under Seneca Lake, which was named for the Seneca Indians who once inhabited the area.