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Residents tell Skagit County commissioners lithium battery storage sites could pose fire and toxic-runoff risks
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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 transcript). She questioned the site design shown on the developer materials (the transcript names the company as "Nextera") and said the plans did not show infrastructure to contain contaminated runoff from firefighting or cooling water.
McCartney described operational experience from lithium‑battery fires she referenced: extended burn durations that required vessels or large-scale measures to let the fire burn out, and claimed that conventional firefighting water can be ineffective against intense battery fires. Those descriptions were presented by the commenter as personal and second‑hand experience; the county did not present independent technical analysis during the meeting.
In a separate reading, Ingrid Hinton presented a letter from Connie Crier of Stewards of Skagit that urged immediate action by fire departments and county officials and warned that, without proper safety protocols, firefighters and volunteers could refuse to respond to a battery-fire incident. The letter said that injuries to responders where proper protective measures were not implemented "could be considered a negligent willful violation by Washington Department of Labor and Industries." Hinton and the letter requested that local emergency-response agencies and the county ensure protections are in place before such facilities operate.
Commissioners thanked the speakers and received the letters; the transcript records no developer presentation, no technical report from county staff and no formal action or vote on the proposed project at this meeting. The claims and technical assertions made by commenters were presented as opinions, personal experience and referenced industry materials; they were not independently substantiated in the record of this meeting.
The meeting record does not specify the exact project site, developer permitting status, or any county decision. Commissioners acknowledged receipt of public comment but did not announce a next procedural step for the project during the session.
