Norwich Township trustees request independent monitoring and safety policies for two proposed fuel-cell facilities

Norwich Township trustees on March 24 requested independent, onsite air-quality monitoring and written safety policies for two proposed fuel-cell facilities and voted to send 12 letters to relevant agencies and companies.

Vice Chairman Brian Rothenberg told the board the township views the sites as two distinct facilities and urged separate monitoring systems. He said the township wants both indoor and outdoor monitoring and "a third-party monitoring system both inside and outside of the facilities," and that the Norwich Township Fire Department should have access to monitoring data and incident policies.

The request was framed as a precaution for first responders and the surrounding community. Paul Lambert, who attended the meeting, offered to assist the township in pursuing information about the data center and the fuel cells.

Trustee Trish Barker seconded a motion to distribute 12 letters outlining the township's requests to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Amazon Web Services and other parties; the motion passed unanimously with Barker, Chairman Kelli Arthur Hykes and Rothenberg voting yes.

The board did not record any formal response from the Ohio EPA or AWS at the meeting; trustees directed staff to proceed with the letters and follow up. Fire Chief Dave Baird later said he had put AWS sponsorship of a fire-prevention trailer on hold pending further review.

Next steps identified at the meeting included distributing the letters and pursuing monitoring data access, but no regulatory or contractual agreements were finalized at the session.