The two battery energy storage facilities in East Hampton Town, jointly owned by NextEra Energy and National Grid, have been temporarily shut down since Friday evening.
The move comes after the town board passed a resolution at last Thursday’s meeting to hire Rigano L.L.C., an environmental law firm, and authorized up to $50,000 for a lawsuit against NextEra Energy that would compel it to do the same.
On Tuesday, the board instead passed a forbearance agreement with the energy storage centers, meaning the town will hold off on the litigation.
In a statement on Friday, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez took a victory lap.
“Less than 24 hours after the town board unanimously authorized litigation to shut down the East Hampton and Montauk battery storage facilities, NextEra has temporarily shut both facilities down,” she wrote. Those facilities are on Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton and North Shore Road in Montauk, near Fort Pond.
“This is the action we demanded, and I am pleased that NextEra responded swiftly to my Sept. 29 letter and the town board’s action.”
Gary Morris, the vice president of the East Hampton Battery Storage Center and the Montauk Battery Storage Center, had, as recently as last Thursday, been defiant and unmoved by a series of demands made by the supervisor in a string of letters dating back to July 31.
Her most recent letter, dated Sept. 30, had asked that the facilities cease operations by Friday unless NextEra removed Novec 1230, a chemical that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has blamed for contaminating nearby drinking water wells after its use in a May 2023 fire at the Cove Hollow Road facility.
“The town’s September 29, 2026, letter identifies no basis for its request that the facilities cease operations by October 2, 2026, and we are aware of none,” wrote Mr. Morris, in an Oct. 1 response to the supervisor, adding that he intended to continue operations there.
Newsday reported that Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine had also been negotiating with NextEra, apparently threatening a county lawsuit, before the energy supplier decided to change course and suspend operations while it manages the Novec 1230.
The county executive’s media representative did not return a request for comment as of Tuesday.
Ms. Burke-Gonzalez confirmed at Tuesday’s town board meeting that she will be present at a Suffolk County-sponsored town hall-style meeting regarding the PFPrA contamination on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Emergency Services Building in East Hampton.
“I am thrilled that the facilities have been shut down,” said East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who will also be present at the Wednesday meeting and who had been calling for the facilities to be shut down since May, when the Suffolk County Water Authority first pointed the finger at the storage facilities in a lawsuit following the discovery of the contamination.
“I think it’s a good time now to reevaluate the environmental impact that these facilities have on their community,” Mr. Larsen said. “We’re not out of the woods yet. We still need to figure out a remediation plan and what we’re going to do for the people who have contaminated drinking water. We are lucky nothing bad happened since May.”
“I commend the county,” said Gerry Turza, the fire and emergency medical services administrator for East Hampton Village and the chairman of the Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Commission. “They’ve been an impartial and important third party to this whole situation. They had three wells drilled before the D.E.C. could even set up a meeting to talk about the contamination.”
“My lights didn’t flicker when the facilities went offline,” he added. “It took a long time to get action. We’re not going to be getting rid of battery storage anytime soon. The question is how quickly we can pump the brakes and to what degree so everyone can be comfortable with having these in their backyards. So far, they’ve been building this plane while it’s flying, and that’s risky.”
Sheryl Gold, who lives on Wireless Road, just north of the contaminated wells, wanted more action.
“Of course, I’m relieved that the facilities are finally closed until the risks are eliminated,” she said. “I still think that the cause of the fire needs tobe identified. I’d like to know how many residents have been impacted, and if the town is working on an emergency evacuation plan for the residents, in the same manner the school is working on a plan for their students.”
“Everyone should be concerned about this,” she added, “not just the residents in the impacted areas. It’s about the sole source aquifer, public health, and the environment.”
--
Note: This story has been updated since it first appeared online.
