CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

The plan to store up to 88 million gallons of liquid petroleum gas in underground depleted salt caverns on Seneca Lake is either the beginning of the end for the Finger Lakes wine and tourism industry or a sure-fire plan to ensure stable pricing and supply of propane and butane throughout the Northeast.

Stakeholders on both sides of the debate will have their say on Tuesday when New York's Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a long-awaited public hearing on the environmental impact statement prepared by Inergy Midstream LLC.

The statement lays the groundwork for the transformation of a former natural gas storage facility in the Town of Reading into an LPG storage and transportation depot.

Inergy, based in Kansas City, Mo., acquired a 576-acre parcel on the western side of Seneca Lake from New York State Electric & Gas Corp. for about $65 million earlier this year.

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