The controversial lithium-ion battery storage proposed for Rochester will go forward, the Thurston County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) ruled this week.
The board, acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, issued a written decision on Wednesday, May 27 denying an appeal and affirming Thurston County Hearing Examiner’s decision to permit the project.
The appeal was filed March 19 by Rochester residents Briand and Tamara Haight.
The Haights appealed a written decision that Thurston County Hearing Examiner Sharon A. Rice issued on March 9 approving special use permits for a 5.4-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at 7505 183rd Ave. SW proposed by Convergent Energy & Power.
Rice originally denied the special use permits in a decision issued Nov. 10, but changed her decision after Convergent appealed for reconsideration.
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.
In an appeals hearing before the BOCC on May 19, the Haights argued that Rice was correct in her Nov. 10 decision, and that her revised March 9 decision didn’t properly take safety, environmental and area compatibility concerns into account.
Like Rice, the BOCC found that it “is in no position to evaluate mitigation and emergency fire plans, nor is there anything in the record that substantiates the idea that issuance of a fire safety permit is impossible.”
While the BOCC did affirm Rice’s March 9 decision, they did find that “considerable concern in the record over the completion of fire preparedness plans warrants additional procedural safeguards.”
The BOCC upheld the stipulations required by Rice in her March 9 decision requiring Convergent to complete hazard mitigation plans and collaborate with the local fire department, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, on fire safety and response plans before the BESS became operational.
“Such plans are essential to addressing potential health and safety effects, impacting groundwater and air quality, in addition to obvious risk to life and property,” the BOCC ruled Wednesday.
The BOCC did amend Rice’s original stipulations to the special use permits by requiring Convergent to submit and secure approval of fire response and hazard mitigation plans before acquiring building permits and starting construction. Convergent was previously only required to submit those plans before the BESS went online.
If the county waited to review emergency plans until after it was built, there was a possibility that the county would have to decommission the facility if it failed the review.
“Not only would the public be subjected to the impacts of an already built facility, the county and its taxpayers would be burdened with enforcing a violation after the fact,” the BOCC stated in its May 27 decision. “Moreover, a proactive approach is necessary to ensure the public that the project design is informed by hazard mitigation and emergency plans, rather than the other way around.”
Fournier elaborated on the BOCC’s decision in a social media post on May 28, acknowledging that the community’s safety concerns are justified.
“As someone who grew up in and lives in rural Thurston County, I take concerns about groundwater, wildfire risk, public safety, and protection of our rural character seriously,” Fournier wrote. “But in a quasi-judicial role, my obligation is to apply the law and evidentiary standards that currently exist, not substitute personal preference for legal process.”
He added that Convergent receiving approved special use permits for the BESS doesn’t automatically mean that the facility will be built.
“Multiple additional substantive reviews and permits are still required, including fire code review and approval. Even the applicant acknowledged in the record that if the Fire Marshal is not satisfied that the project meets applicable safety standards, the project will not proceed,” Fournier wrote.
Outside of the appeals hearing, Fournier said that the BOCC is now planning to consider potential updates to the county’s code surrounding BESSs, and evaluating whether stronger regulations, setbacks, fire protection requirements, or other standards should apply to future projects.
A group of Rochester-area residents operating under the banner “Pause the BESS” have called for Thurston County to issue a moratorium of BESS construction in Thurston County until the county’s code can be updated to include specific guidelines and zoning requirements for those facilities.
Thurston County currently has no specific code for BESSs, which store energy rather than generating it.
County staff allowed Convergent’s 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.
Similar conversations about BESS regulations and safety requirements are going on across Washington state as more and more projects are proposed, Fournier said.
“Reasonable people can disagree about Battery Energy Storage Systems and where they should or should not be located,” Fournier wrote.
West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Nathan Drake has spoken out against the BESS, saying the fire district isn’t equipped to handle the fire response needs of the proposed facility.
According to Drake, West Thurston is considering zoning the facility out of its coverage area.
“West Thurston Regional Fire Authority is disappointed in the Thurston County Board of Commissioners decision but acknowledges the improved condition that address some of our concerns,” Drake said in an email to the Thurston Chronicle on Wednesday.
Drake added that he has repeatedly met and had productive conversations with Convergent Energy representatives — contrary to a Convergent attorney’s claims at the May 19 hearing.
“We have been and (are) still willing to work with Convergent Energy, but the safety of our community and responders is our top concern and that will not waiver,” Drake said.
West Thuston is “currently researching all our options including the possibility of zoning out the BESS from our response area,” Drake said.
To learn more about the proposal, visit the county’s hearing examiner page at https://tinyurl.com/ywcxnwwx
