Churchill County planning commission approves Redwood Materials special-use permit for battery storage and testing

The Churchill County Planning Commission on a 6–1 vote approved a special-use permit for Redwood Materials to install an outdoor end-of-life battery storage yard and a battery testing (R&D) facility on a 438.42-acre industrial parcel along Bangor Road.

The permit covers a roughly 35-acre outdoor battery staging area north of Bangor Road and a separate roughly 2.5-acre R&D/test pad south of Bangor Road. The commission approved the permit subject to conditions in the staff report and an additional condition requiring a two-person, on-site fire/response team at all times.

Why it matters: the site sits near the Truckee Canal and Carson River watershed and adjacent to agricultural land. Residents at the meeting said fires at other lithium facilities have released heavy metals and toxic fumes, and they raised water‑quality, health and traffic concerns. Redwood Materials and county staff said the company has monitoring, containment and emergency procedures intended to limit those risks.

What the project would do and how it would operate: planning staff described the application as two uses now (outside battery storage and battery testing) with a potential third use — a solar-plus-storage facility — to be considered later. The outdoor storage would be arranged in grid “pallet” stacks of roughly 30 by 30 feet (900 square feet) with a 10-foot spacing in the application; stack height was described as limited to 10 feet. Planning staff said the storage yard would cover three proposed phases. Redwood’s presentation said on-site operations would be primarily 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with about 12 employees and 1–2 night guards; the company said security, FLIR (infrared) cameras, AI monitoring and on-site first-responder trucks would be staffed 24/7.

Redwood Materials’ case: Don Tetrault, representing Redwood Materials, framed the project as local recycling and domestic battery supply‑chain work, saying the company collects and processes end‑of‑life batteries to recover cathode materials for reuse. Tetrault said the company operates at the Tahoe Regional Industrial Center and described the proposed site as an industrial use. “I just wanna thank you all for giving us the opportunity to present,” he said during the presentation.

Safety and emergency response: Redwood showed FLIR imagery and said AI-assisted cameras and a staffed command center allow rapid detection. Brad Mayhew, a company technical lead, said, “We would have, first responders available on-site 24 7.” He described on‑site response vehicles carrying water and foam (the company said typical response gear includes a 300‑gallon water truck plus foam) and “dunk tanks” to isolate hot batteries. Fallon-Churchill Fire Department Fire Marshal Mitch Young said county staff would press the company for increased separation distances, explaining staff would ask the company to increase spacing above the code‑minimum: “we are going to ask them to increase that to a 20 I'm sorry. A 15 foot minimum.” The commission added a requirement that night‑shift response staffing be a two‑person “buddy” team.

Environmental and technical limits described at the meeting: county staff and the company said the site plan includes stormwater detention/containment (to be engineered with a clay liner) to capture runoff, and that any firefighting runoff would be collected and removed for off‑site testing/disposal if contaminants were present. Company charts presented by Redwood compared emissions from a modeled battery thermal event to other local sources and argued the facility’s anticipated testing events would produce lower annual emissions than some existing regional sources; residents disputed that characterization, citing Moss Landing and other incidents.

Public comment and concerns: more than two dozen residents spoke during the special meeting. Common concerns included risk to groundwater and surface water from heavy metals after battery fires, the sufficiency of on‑site staffing and monitoring (including false‑positive rates for thermal‑detection AI), truck traffic and road safety on Bangor/Old Carson Highway, and perceived past problems at nearby industrial sites (Safety Kleen/Bango Oil). Multiple speakers invoked the January 2025 Moss Landing battery fire as evidence of potential off‑site contamination and health effects. Sherry Weideman said, “This type of facility is not compatible with this location,” and other speakers told the commission they feared long‑term harm to farmland, wells and property values.

Commission discussion and conditions: commissioners questioned the frequency and severity of “stage 3” thermal events and pressed the company and fire marshal on spacing, staffing, response equipment and training. The commission directed that conditions in the staff report be applied; at the motion to approve Commissioner Jeff Goings added a condition requiring two on‑site responders for fire mitigation at all times. The approved condition list also reflected the fire marshal’s request for increased spacing (15 feet minimum for undamaged batteries) and standard requirements for drainage, engineering and code compliance.

Vote and next steps: Commissioner Jeff Goings moved to approve the findings required under CCC 16‑8‑080H and grant the special‑use permit; the motion was seconded and passed 6–1 (six in favor, one opposed). The chair announced a 10‑day appeal period. Planning staff said the department will contact the applicant to complete the permitting process and that engineered grading/drainage and other construction plans will be required before operations begin.

What the permit does not yet decide: the commission’s action approves the special‑use permit subject to conditions; final construction, drainage and site engineering plans, bonding/removal assurances and any required state permits (for example, NDEP pollution prevention/oversight) must still be submitted and approved before full operations. County staff said notification and coordination with state and federal agencies (NDEP, DOT, potentially BLM/TCID/BOR depending on scope) will continue as part of plan review and the county building/permitting process.

Community follow up: residents and commissioners urged continuing annual training exercises with the local fire department, public updates on monitoring systems and clear plans for removal and off‑site disposal of firefighting runoff if contamination is detected. The application record and staff report specify additional conditions (road contribution participation, engineered containment ponds, and adherence to county code) to be enforced during plan review.

Votes at a glance - Special‑use permit (Redwood Materials) for outdoor battery storage yard and battery testing facility at APN 007‑071‑79 — Outcome: Approved; vote tally: yes 6, no 1; motion by Commissioner Jeff Goings; second (recorded) — motion passed. Approval is subject to staff conditions and an added condition requiring a two‑person on‑site fire mitigation team at all times; county staff will require engineered drainage and containment, and the fire marshal will seek a 15‑foot minimum spacing requirement for undamaged battery stacks.

Ending note: the planning commission’s decision is subject to a 10‑day appeal period. Planning staff indicated they will work with the applicant on required engineering plans, drainage containment design (including clay lining for detention/containment basins), and any additional county or state permit requirements before on‑site work beyond minimal staging is allowed.