The fate of a proposed lithium-ion battery storage system in Rochester is now in the hands of the Thurston County Board of Commissioners.
The board, acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, is expected to issue a written decision within the next few days on whether or not to uphold the Thurston County Hearing Examiner’s decision to permit the controversial project.
Hearing Examiner Sharon A. Rice approved special use permits for the proposed 5.4-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at 7505 183rd Ave. SW in Rochester on March 9.
Rice originally denied the special use permits in a decision issued Nov. 10, but changed her decision after the applicant, Convergent Energy & Power, appealed for reconsideration.
Her revised decision was subsequently appealed on March 19 by Rochester residents Brian and Tamara Haight.
Procedure dictated that that appeal be heard by the Board of Thurston County Commissioners.
The board heard oral arguments from the Haights and from Convergent representative and attorney Reuben Schutz during a hearing on Wednesday, May 20.
The Board of County Commissioners will issue its written decision on the Rochester BESS appeal within one week of the hearing date.
The parties were allowed to argue based on the information, documents and public comments already included in the hearing examiner’s case file for the project, but were not allowed to add any new information to the record.
Rice based her March 9 decision to approve the BESS’ special use permits on new information provided by Convergent upon reconsideration.
That new information alleviated Rice’s concerns about fire and life safety, groundwater impacts and compatibility with the rural surroundings and rural character of the facility.
Her approval came with stipulations, including that Convergent had to acquire hazard mitigation plans and collaborate with the local fire department, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, on fire safety plans before the BESS became operational.
West Thurston Regional Fire has gone on the record claiming that the BESS would pose an undue burden to the fire district.
Rice’s March 9 decision found that was not the case.
“The fire district said ‘we don’t have the capacity,’ but there wasn’t actually any evidence cited,” Schutz said Wednesday.
Convergent has suggested paying impact fees to West Thurston Fire to cover the cost of any extra equipment or personnel needed, according to Schutz.
Answering questions from the Thurston County commissioners on Wednesday, Schutz alleged that West Thurston Regional Fire Authority has so far been unwilling to work with Convergent on fire safety mitigation for the proposed BESS.
“Throughout this process, the fire district has said, ‘we don’t want it.’ Not ‘here’s what we need,’ not ‘here’s what would make it better,’ not ‘here’s some conditions that should be added,’ just straight ‘No,’” Schutz said. “Can you imagine any other county agency just not engaging? Not providing thoughts on what would make this better, but rather, just ‘No?’”
In a video statement recorded during a community protest against the Rochester BESS, West Thurston Fire Chief Nathan Drake said the fire department was opposed to the project due to general fire safety and fire response concerns.
“Our big concern is the community and its health when it comes to how this material releases from these fires, affecting our quality of air and water,” Drake said.
During their oral argument on Wednesday, the Haights expressed concerns about hydrogen fluoride gases that are released during lithium-iron battery fires at BESSs.
Standard practice at BESS facilities is to let fires burn out, as spraying them with water is ineffective and can lead to water table contamination.
However, the toxic gases from the fire smoke can still negatively impact air quality in the area, and still contaminate the water table through precipitation.
There is no way to remove chemical contamination from the soil or water table in the area around the proposed BESS site because the water table is only 18 feet deep, according to the Haights.
Collaboration between Convergence and West Thurston Fire is required under the approved special use permits for the BESS project.
Schutz said that Convergence expects West Thurston Fire will engage “in good faith” once they have no options to stop the facility from being built.
According to Drake, the West Thurston Fire board of directors is looking into the possibility of zoning out the property so that West Thurston is not responsible for fire services to it.
“We may not be able to meet the needs if that facility catches fire,” Drake said.
The zoning of the proposed project site was also a topic of dispute during the appeals hearing.
The site is zoned for Rural Character Conservation, and while a BESS is technically allowed as a permitted use of the property, the Haights argued that it doesn’t fit the spirit of the zoning’s purpose.
“It’s generally for things like little stores, little services, things so that the rural community can be served without having to go into cities to get these services taken care of,” said Brian Haight.
Thurston County has no specific code for BESSs, which store energy rather than generating it.
County staff allowed the project to be classified as a major energy generation facility, which is allowed within most zoning codes, because it most closely fits under that definition, according to Schutz.
Convergent chose the Rochester site for a BESS based on a variety of factors, most-significant being the presence of a substation across the street, according to Schutz.
Rochester citizens concerned about the impacts of the proposed BESS gave public comment to the Thurston County Board of Commissioners during its regular meeting on Tuesday — the day before the appeals hearing — to enact a moratorium on all BESS proposals until county code can be amended to include specific guidelines and zoning requirements for those facilities.
“A moratorium is necessary to ensure that proper regulations and safeguards are established before permitting battery energy storage systems in Thurston County,” said Rochester-area resident Casey Taylor on behalf of the citizen group “Pause the BESS.”
The group was warned not to give public comment pertaining specifically to Covergent’s proposed BESS in Rochester due to the pending appeals hearing, but was allowed to speak about BESSs in general.
“We're basically judges, and you can't lobby judges before a case in a court case. That's the kind of situation that we find ourselves in tomorrow,” Menser said before public comment on Tuesday.
Taylor’s comments were submitted to the Board of County Commissioners in writing alongside a petition with 1,800 signatures calling for a moratorium on BESSs in Thurston County.
“Until comprehensive regulations and protections are in place, no BESS facilities should be approved in rural residential communities. We ask our elected officials to stand with the citizens they serve, protect our lives, protect our land, and preserve the future of South Thurston County,” Taylor said.
The board was asked to consider a BESS moratorium at its next regular meeting, scheduled for early June.
The agenda for that meeting has not yet been finalized.
