Residents urge North Hempstead to extend moratorium on lithium-ion battery storage, cite safety and liability risks

Public commenters at a Town of North Hempstead special board meeting on Oct. 6 urged the town to extend a moratorium on lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS), saying the technology presents fire, health and long-term contamination risks and that local zoning should be used to limit siting near homes, schools and water sources.

Unidentified public commenter: “The technology is not ready for prime time,” the first speaker said, arguing that incidents to date show BESS can suffer thermal runaways, emit toxic smoke and leave hazardous waste that communities would have to address. The speaker said developer-funded peer reviewers create conflicts of interest and called for independent environmental testing and financial bonds to cover possible contamination and health impacts.

Doug Augenthaler, who identified himself during public comment, said lithium still burns and described fires as difficult to extinguish, saying they can burn at "roughly 3,000 degrees." He told the board that newly issued fire codes cannot change battery chemistry and warned against treating industry experts as impartial, saying, “They should not be trusted to give you this information.” Augenthaler recommended waiting for alternative technologies such as fuel cells (he cited Bloom Energy) rather than permitting BESS now.

Tammy Palmeri said she is submitting a QBE Insurance report to the board that identifies design flaws and inadequate safety mechanisms in BESS systems and asked whether liability insurance mandates exist for developers beyond decommissioning bonds. Palmeri recommended wind-path modeling for evacuation planning and independent air and soil testing before, during and after any incident; she also urged decontamination plans for firefighters.

Rob Mazzella said lithium-ion systems off-gas toxic chemicals even during normal operation and promoted alternatives such as sodium-ion, zinc-ion and solid-state batteries. He also criticized state energy policy enforcement, saying NYSERDA leadership supports siting BESS broadly while living in a jurisdiction that bans such facilities.

Speakers cited several quantitative claims, including alleged failure rates for suppression systems (25 percent) and thermal management (18 percent) and a projected North Hempstead EMF level as high as "175 milligauss" compared with a 1978 standard of 200 milligauss. These claims were made by public commenters and were not challenged or verified during the meeting.

The board did not take formal action on the moratorium at the meeting. Instead, it moved on to a separate agenda item on the tentative town budget. Members of the public requested local control over zoning and clearer liability and remediation requirements if BESS projects are to proceed.

The town has not adopted or rejected the moratorium extension during this meeting; any formal change would require a subsequent board resolution or hearing.