East Hampton residents cite health worries amid battery plant fire investigation

Residents living near a battery storage facility in East Hampton say they are increasingly worried that contamination from a 2023 fire may threaten their health, calling for testing, monitoring and more information about potential exposure to toxic chemicals.

The concerns followed warnings by town officials that the facility could be shut down if it fails to meet requirements for sweeping safety upgrades. Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez outlined the safety demands and warnings in a recent letter to the battery plant's operators.

“We need more transparency, a plan for protecting our sole source of water and outreach to all those whose health may be seriously affected by this latest PFAS contamination,” resident Sheryl Gold said during Thursday night’s town board meeting.

Residents living near the Cove Hollow Road plant warned about the potential health effects of PFAS, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as “forever chemicals” that are linked to cancer and other health conditions.

Coleen Kalbacher said she is concerned about her family’s health and called for testing for chemicals in the bloodstream, including PFAS, to "secure long-term health protections."

“We cannot wait years for this litigation to resolve,” Kalbacher said. 

The Suffolk County Water Authority alleges in a federal lawsuit that runoff pooled on-site after more than 2.2 million gallons of water were discharged over roughly 30 hours following the May 31, 2023, fire. The water supplier alleges the runoff migrated off-site and contaminated groundwater.

Suffolk County's Department of Health Services is expanding its testing of groundwater near the battery plant, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation is testing water and soil near there, a process that includes drilling new wells.

A spokesperson for NextEra Energy, which owns and operates the plant along with National Grid, has said the project “is operating safely.”

On Friday, a spokesperson for NextEra and National Grid said in a statement: "We recently received the Town of East Hampton’s letter and are reviewing its requests carefully. We remain committed to transparency, scientific rigor, and community safety, and we will continue to work with local authorities."

Town demands safety changes

In the July 31 letter to executives with NextEra Energy and National Grid, Burke-Gonzalez demanded a revised emergency action and safety plan within 30 days. She said the plan should detail worst-case fire scenarios and guarantee “zero discharge” of contaminated water into the soil or groundwater.

The town also directed the companies to design and install controls capable of capturing all fire-related runoff within 60 days.

The letter warns that the town could suspend or revoke approvals if the plant fails to meet demands. The town’s 2017 approvals, the supervisor wrote, relied on representations that the lithium-ion battery system contained no spillable liquids beyond transformer oil. The letter adds the companies knew or should have known the building was unlikely to capture water used to suppress a battery fire.

Contamination concerns expand

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine has called on the facility’s owners to cease operations.

East Hampton Village officials have urged the town to shut down the plant. During Thursday's meeting, the village's fire and emergency medical services administrator, Gerard Turza Jr., read aloud a letter from the village board and Mayor Jerry Larsen: “Each day that the facility remains open exposes residents on an ongoing basis to an unreasonable risk of harm.”

Burke-Gonzalez said during the meeting that public water meets all drinking water standards. Residents with private wells in the area of concern should consider having their water tested, she said.

Contamination concerns stem from detections of the forever chemical PFPrA in wells south of the site, with concentrations as high as 1,170 parts per billion. The level far exceeds the state’s screening level of 3 parts per billion, Newsday has reported. The authority shut down two plume-impacted wells and put two others on partial use following the findings earlier this year, contributing to the water alert on the East End last month.

At the hearing, Simon Kinsella said the facility and a similar battery plant in Montauk "represent an imminent and ongoing risk to groundwater resources." He questioned whether there were proper precautions in the event of another fire.

State regulators say they have not identified a definitive source of contamination, though the investigation includes the battery facility.