Op Ed: Hauppauge Fire District Chairman of the Board Commissioner Louis A. Zara

The Hauppauge Fire District supports County Executive Edward Romaine’s call for the operator of the East Hampton Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility to cease operations following recent allegations of groundwater contamination.

However, we believe that this action alone does not go far enough.

For more than a year, the Hauppauge Fire District has warned about the risks associated with siting utility-scale lithium battery energy storage systems near residential neighborhoods, schools, major transportation corridors, and environmentally sensitive areas. Our focus has been on preventing Key Capture Energy and LIPA from constructing a proposed 79-megawatt lithium BESS facility at 220 Rabro Drive in Hauppauge.

Recent allegations involving PFAS contamination of Long Island's drinking water following the May 2023 fire at the East Hampton BESS facility, operated by NextEra and National Grid, reinforce the concerns we have consistently raised.

We specifically point to the lawsuit recently filed by the Suffolk County Water Authority, which alleges that groundwater contamination resulted from firefighting runoff associated with that incident.

If these allegations prove to be true, they demonstrate that the potential consequences of a lithium battery fire extend far beyond the immediate emergency response. They raise serious questions about the long-term impacts on our environment, our drinking water, and public health.

We therefore urge County Executive Romaine to take the next logical step by advocating for a ban on the construction of additional lithium BESS facilities on Long Island.

The proposed facility at 220 Rabro Drive is located only 32 feet above Long Island's sole-source drinking water aquifer and just thousands of feet from the headwaters of the Nissequogue River. A significant fire at this location could have devastating environmental consequences not only for the Hauppauge community but for Long Island as a whole.

The Hauppauge Fire District maintains that utility-scale lithium BESS facilities, when located in environmentally sensitive or densely populated areas, present an unacceptable risk to public health, public safety, and critical natural resources.

We also call upon the Town of Islip to act decisively. Despite repeated requests from the Hauppauge Fire District to adopt zoning protections addressing these facilities, the Town has declined to take meaningful action.

We urge the Town Board to put the safety of its residents first by prohibiting the siting of utility-scale lithium battery energy storage systems within the Town of Islip.

The protection of our drinking water, our communities, and future generations must take precedence over corporate interests.

Once groundwater is contaminated, the damage may last for decades. Preventing that risk is far less costly than attempting to remedy it after the fact.