East Texas proposed Lithium Battery factory raises concern | cbs19.tv

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VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas — A proposed lithium battery storage facility in Van Zandt County is raising serious concerns Tuesday among local residents and first responders.

The facility would be located in the Whitton area, but some worry about its safety and environmental risks.

"We're not allowed to build on it, walk on it, drill on it, and now we’re going to build on it. It seems like a problem," resident Richard Dwelling said.

Dwelling lives just half a mile from where the proposed lithium battery storage facility would be placed, directly over a pipeline. The facility would store lithium batteries, the same type that power electric vehicles, and provide emergency power backups in case of a grid failure.

"This affects my kids, my grandkids and myself and a million other people that live here that are not ready to give up land to a dangerous situation," local resident Karen Gonzales said.

The general contractor for the project is REZ Group, with battery systems provided by Fluence. The project will cost an estimated $90 million and is expected to break ground in January 2025 in the Whitton area of Van Zandt County, with A completion scheduled for December 2025.

"We've been here since 1983, and we're concerned about the groundwater and the capabilities of our Fire Departments," Evelyn Daugherty.

Not everyone is on board, David Birdsong, Deputy Chief of the South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department, expressed concerns over potential environmental hazards. He says the heavy metals in the batteries, the fire risks, and possible groundwater contamination could have a lasting impact on the community.

"We as firefighters in the county, how do you expect us to handle a thermal runaway? You know, if there's a release and this thing catches fire, we don't have the resources, the capabilities, the manpower to be able to manage these things appropriately, and so that's a huge concern. So, saying that you're going to provide training, I mean, that's bare bones minimum," Chief David Birdsong said.

Birdsong worries the facility could turn into a major environmental hazard if something goes wrong. He imagines a scenario where the area, once peaceful and rural, could become a hazardous waste site, affecting not just the community, but future generations.

"So if you can imagine scattering those all through the area, you're touching pretty much all the points you know of the landscape of the county, changing the dynamics of that from being somewhere quiet, peaceful, where individuals want to raise their kids and cows and horses to, you know, potentially becoming a either a state or federal superfund cleanup site, depending on the release of the toxins from these containers," Birdsong said.

As the project moves forward, concerns over the safety of the facility and its potential risks to the environment and public health continue to grow. Community members are demanding more transparency and Safety measures before construction begins.

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