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Commission requires annual emergency‑responder training and funding for BESS sites
Summary
The commission added draft code language requiring project developers to fund annual emergency‑responder education and to include responder training and cost‑recovery provisions for Tier‑3 BESS sites. Commissioners emphasized countywide and adjacent‑district training and asked staff to draft programmatic details.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to include language in the BESS section requiring annual emergency‑responder education, funding for responder training and planning for emergency access and suppression needs for large (Tier‑3) battery facilities.
Consultant Rachel Granrath described the proposal as an annual requirement: 'the owner and operator has to pay for any emergency responder training. This is an annual requirement.' Commissioners and Public Works staff emphasized that training should be offered countywide and to adjacent districts because volunteer fire departments often rely on mutual aid. Commissioner Brian Davies underscored the seriousness of BESS fire risks and why training and equipment support matter: 'If we're talking a lithium‑ion battery storage facility, there's no water on the planet that's going to put it out,' he said, arguing for robust planning and training.
The Commission directed staff to draft specific training frequency, funding mechanisms, and cost‑recovery language for inclusion in the ordinance and associated development agreements.
