Albany, NY- Dozens of Finger Lakes winery and business owners came to Albany to call on Governor Cuomo to protect the region's growing wine industry and thriving tourism by denying permits for a proposed gas storage facility along Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen.

"Governor Cuomo has been a great supporter of New York's wineries and the Finger Lakes, but this proposed gas facility threatens our future growth and place as the Napa of the Northeast " said Doug Hazlitt, a sixth generation Finger Lakes vintner and owner of Hazlitt 1852 Winery. "We need Governor Cuomo's support now to protect the health of our region and the very things that make it great – the local businesses, renowned wine, and our way of life."

The wineries are part of broad opposition to Texas-based Crestwood-Midstream's proposal to use old abandoned salt caverns along Seneca Lake to store millions of barrels of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and billions of cubic feet of natural gas. The proposal has generated opposition from over 200 businesses, over 60 wineries, 10 municipalities and thousands of residents in the Finger Lakes region who are concerned about the threat it poses to one of the state's largest supplies of drinking water, the local economy, and the area's growing wine and tourism industry.

"There is widespread opposition throughout the Finger Lakes to this dangerous proposal – it crosses political affiliation and views, with a clear understanding of what is at stake," said Steve Churchill a member of the Seneca Board of Supervisors. "Hundreds of businesses and thousands of residents don't want their health and drinking water jeopardized or their way of life trampled on by the hazardous over-industrialization this Texas-based corporation would bring to the Finger Lakes. Governor Cuomo should stand with the people of the Finger Lakes by denying permits for this facility, and he would be remembered as a hero for preserving the jobs and economic growth already occurring in the heart of New York."

A recent report on the state's grape and wine industry showed that it contributes $4.8 billion to the New York State economy every year, supporting the equivalent of 25,000 full-time jobs, paying over $408 million in taxes, and generating over 5.2 million wine-related tourism visits. The Finger Lakes region, in particular, has gained increasing prominence as home to world-class wines, with several wineries earning awards in national and international competitions. Governor Cuomo highlighted the success of the industry at his 2013 Governor's Cup Wine Competition in Watkins Glen, exactly where the gas storage facility is being proposed for location.

"We buy our grapes from the shores of Seneca Lake and the dozens of wineries in the area are opposed to this gas facility because it threatens our local businesses and economy, said Will Ouweleen, co-owner of the O-Neh-Da and Eagle Crest Vineyards, est. 1872, that offer natural, pure grape wines from locally grown Finger Lakes fruit and utilize sustainable practices. "This is a regional issue that endangers the jobs our businesses have provided for local families and residents for generations."

The region has become so widely known for its winemaking that vintners from outside of the area have begun to invest in the area as well.

"Due to the hard work of so many of our local wineries who have toiled in the Finger Lakes for generations, the area has become an international hotspot for quality wine and has experienced increasing investment," said Michael Warren Thomas, host of New York radio show 'The Grapevine'. "That is why the region has garnered attention from winemakers as far as Napa and Germany."

The Finger Lakes is also considered a world-class tourism destination, with Shermans Travel naming it the #1 Lake Vacation in the world last year.

"There is no justification for jeopardizing the Finger Lakes' place as an international destination for world-class agri-tourism," said Lou Damiani, owner of Damiani Wine Cellars. "There is no propane shortage and we have worked too hard to get where we are now. We won't let the Finger Lakes region become the sacrifice zone for the gas industry and risk losing everything."

Opponents to the facility say that in addition to the over-industrialization such a storage facility would cause – increased truck traffic and pollution that threatens crops (including grapes) – salt cavern storage is historically unsafe. It presents the potential for explosive accidents and water contamination along the Finger Lakes. Salt cavern storage represents only a small percentage of gas storage facilities, but is responsible for the majority of instances of catastrophic failure. In 2001, gas migrated 7 miles from a salt cavern storage facility in Kansas, came up in abandoned brine wells and exploded, killing two people, destroying buildings and evacuating residents. There are many such abandoned brine wells just three miles from the proposed facility in downtown Watkins Glen, NY.

"Gas storage facilities threaten to contaminate one of the state's largest drinking supplies and the likelihood of an accident at a facility like this is far too high," said Rob MacKenzie, retired President/CEO of Cayuga Medical Center. "Finger Lakes residents do not want to gamble with our health and safety for a facility that we know will detrimentally impact our local economy and way of life."

A decision on whether or not to grant a permit for the proposed facility will be determined by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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