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Residents tell Skagit County commissioners lithium battery storage sites could pose fire and toxic-runoff risks
Summary
Two public commenters read letters warning that proposed lithium-ion battery storage facilities (referenced in the transcript as "Nextera") could cause prolonged fires, toxic runoff and firefighter risk; one letter urges firefighters and volunteers to insist on protective measures and says response organizations might refuse to respond without them.
Multiple members of the public told the county commissioners they are concerned about proposed lithium‑ion energy-storage facilities and the risks those facilities could present to public safety and the environment.
Elka McCartney read a letter warning that a battery-storage site could become a "permanent hazardous material site" and described two lithium-battery fires she said had burned for weeks. "You're introducing a permanent hazardous material site capable of catching on fire anytime...exposing an entire region to forever toxins that will affect every natural resource in Skagit County and neighboring counties," McCartney said (as read in the meeting…
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