Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
As lithium batteries become more commonplace in appliances, devices, and modes of transport, the concern regarding their safety and disposal has outpaced the relatively new technology’s apparent omnipresence.
Most towns in Suffolk County, Brookhaven being an exception, have enacted moratoriums in their municipalities, often at the behest of local fire companies who are asking for more time in determining how fires started by lithium batteries can be combated. Currently, conventional fire extinguishing methods are not effective in treating lithium battery fires, with the most common protocol being to simply let the fire burn.
Community members have also been vocal in their opposition to the facilities, citing safety concerns over fire risks and public health concerns due to air quality and ground pollution.
The Town of Islip has issued three moratoriums on these facilities within its borders, and at Tuesday’s afternoon Board Meeting, the Town Board voted unanimously to extend the moratorium another six months.
The move also comes shortly after a contract approval was made by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in December. The proposed facility’s site is located at 225 Rabro Drive, off of Wheeler Road (State Route 111) just north of the Long Island Expressway at Exit 56 in the heart of the Hauppauge Industrial Complex. The current site is a vacant tax lot zoned for Industrial. The location is about one mile away from Bretton Woods Elementary School, two miles from Hauppauge High School on Lincoln Boulevard, and just south of the County Center that houses the H. Lee Dennison Building and the Perry Duryea State Building.
LIPA also approved another plant at the former site of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant.
No plan has come before the Town Board yet, and LIPA’s goals are to enhance clean energy initiatives. Their estimated date of completion is 2028.
The Town extended the moratorium on such facilities, but some residents remain concerned about the possibility of such a structure in their neighborhood.
“If any of us have looked at the news in the last five to ten years, these facilities have exploded and burned,” said one concerned resident, adding that the contract- approved LIPA site is around the corner from the historic St. Thomas More Church on Kings Highway.
“The health impact and the devastation that can be caused by this can be terrible,” he continued.
Some residents took note of an agenda item that would allow Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) to enter the Town into a Professional Services Agreement with the Fire and Risk Alliance for the purpose of expert consultation on an eventual exemption from the moratorium.
“That is just to engage an outside professional firm to help the Town analyze an application for exemption from the moratorium,” explained Town Attorney William Garbarino. “There should be another public hearing for the Planning Board on that application for potential use.”
“I cannot think of a worse place to put something like this,” said a concerned resident who lives near St. Thomas More Church. “God forbid there was an accident on a day like we had Sunday, it would make L.A. look like a campfire,” referencing this weekend’s brush fires in eastern Suffolk and the January Los Angeles wildfires that created apocalyptic scenes in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.
“Right now, we are discussing the extension of the moratorium, which means no battery energy storage facilities are going to be considered,” clarified Supervisor Carpenter. “If and when the resolution comes before us, there will be a public hearing and an opportunity to opine on that. But for now, we’re just talking about the merits of extending the moratorium.”
“If we have assurances that the public is going to be made aware of what’s going on moving forward, should this [site proposal] then go to a public hearing, I’m okay with,” said a resident who lives
“one-tenth of a mile” from the
proposed site. “The concerns
that were voiced were real,
but it’s not the time or the
forum right now.”
The closure of the public hearing on the matter was proposed by Councilman John Lorenzo (C-West Sayville) and seconded by Councilman Jorge Guadrón (D-Central Islip), followed by a unanimous vote of the Board to close the hearing.
This is a developing story.