Resident warns of fire, health and water risks from battery storage and data centers

A member of the public raised detailed concerns about battery energy storage systems (BESS) and the growth of data centers in the region.

The commenter described recent national incidents and litigation and urged caution if a company seeks to site battery storage near Benton County. The commenter cited a January fire at Moss Landing, California, that burned for days and led to later re‑ignitions and health complaints; he said residents were evacuated and lawsuits followed. “These fires, lithium batteries...it took 5 days for this to, the fire to stop burning. And about 3 weeks later the fire started again,” the commenter said.

The speaker also raised water‑use and economic concerns tied to large data centers, saying some major companies consume significant water and that property‑ownership structures can limit local tax benefit. The commenter mentioned national‑security questions, characterizing certain supply‑chain dependencies as a potential risk: “the Department of Defense did a study...that the Chinese government has 100% influence on all the best systems that are being made. Because of the components.”

Board members acknowledged the comments; no formal action was taken at the meeting. Staff and supervisors indicated they would monitor proposed projects and rely on permitting processes and regulatory reviews.

The comment included references to companies and incidents (Moss Landing, PG&E) and described health symptoms reported elsewhere; the board did not make factual findings about those claims during the meeting.