Westford Board of Health hears experts on battery storage risks and local regulation options

The Westford Board of Health on June 8 heard two expert briefings about battery energy storage systems (BES) and how Westford should prepare locally as Massachusetts implements a consolidated permitting framework for small clean-energy facilities.

Jenny Ra, executive director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, told the board she and deputy director Kelly Linama reviewed Westford’s zoning and bylaw language and identified “gaps that might exist and areas you might want to update,” and described a consolidated permit process under 225 CMR 29 that includes a pre-filing engagement, an applicant site-suitability report and a town decision within a 12-month clock. She said the town’s project timeline is tentative: NIMCOG expects to present to the planning board in August and to pursue a possible special town meeting in the fall, but that lodging changes are optional.

Why it matters: state rules for consolidated permitting will begin to take effect this summer and fall. Towns can choose to amend local bylaws or pass health regulations to add protections; for some smaller facilities the town’s health board will be the primary regulatory authority.

Michael Hugo, director of strategies and government relations at the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards (MAHB), urged Westford to engage early and to prepare rules and evidence now. “If everything goes bad, the board of health is the agency that shuts it all down,” Hugo said, explaining that nuisance law and local regulation give boards authority to act when facilities injure public health. He described how MAHB successfully urged state regulators to add public-health scoring to the Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) rules and to include the Department of Public Health on the review board.

Hugo also warned of acute safety risks: “When one catches on fire… you have a thermal runaway event,” he said, describing how batteries can ignite adjacent cells and produce smoke containing hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen cyanide, sulfur dioxide and other toxins. He said those emissions can aggravate asthma and cause other respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

Board members raised local concerns. Stephanie Granger asked whether the board of health would be sidelined if the planning or zoning board served as the lead permitting authority; Jenny Ra and Health Director Ray Dick said coordinated, cross-departmental review is required and that Westford must identify a single point of contact while keeping health staff involved in permit review and sign-off.

Several members asked about data centers and water usage; consultants clarified that data centers are not included in this NIMCOG scope and that water-intensive cooling for large data centers was not part of the current consolidated-permit effort.

What’s next: Hugo and MAHB offered to share technical materials and to return for further training on board authority and open meeting law. Ray Dick said the health department is drafting a model local regulation and will coordinate with town counsel, the planning department and MAHB. The board asked staff to monitor planning-board hearings and to place follow-up briefings on future agendas.

Sources and limitations: the article summarizes presentations and public Q&A recorded in Westford’s June 8 board meeting. Details such as firm timelines for town meeting or final bylaw language were described as tentative by presenters.

Ending: The board closed the discussion after the two briefings and agreed to invite the consultants back for a more detailed session at a later meeting.