A preliminary report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has identified a "vapor-based waterless fire suppression system, that, when combined with water, can break down into PFPrA" as the source for groundwater contamination in a number of Suffolk County Water Authority drinking water wells located just south of the East Hampton Energy Storage Center on Cove Hollow Road.
A May 2023 fire at the facility led to a release of a soup of chemicals and water that, three years later, has reached the groundwater supply.
"The 2023 fire response resulted in the application of more than one million gallons of water to the East Hampton Battery Energy Storage System and approximately 4,900 pounds of waterless fire suppression chemicals," the report, issued Friday, says. "The investigation points to the fire suppression system, not battery storage, as a PFPrA source."
The issue came to light in a May 29 lawsuit filed by the water authority against NextEra Energy, the operator of the storage center, and LG Chem and LG Energy Solution in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Since then, three of the affected wells have been removed from service, with a fourth restricted. Dozens of private wells have been tested.
To draw its conclusion, the D.E.C. sampled seven National Grid monitoring wells, and with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services sampled seven other newly drilled wells. The department collected more than 40 soil samples from 12 locations at different depths up to a quarter-mile from the facility. Maximum levels of PFPrA concentration were detected adjacent to the battery storage building. More results are expected later this month.
Over 180,000 battery cells were stored in NextEra's facility at the time of the fire, but all it took was 672 burning cells to unleash the fire suppression contamination.
The energy storage system was equipped with three separate fire suppression systems. The waterless system used a chemical known as Novec 1230. Alone it poses no PFAS, or "forever chemical," risk, according to the D.E.C. report, but when mixed with water "it has the potential to break down to [ultra short chain] PFAS."
Nearly 5,000 pounds of Novec 1230 were disbursed during the 2023 battery fire and close to two million gallons of water. The combination of the two resulted in a problem for the groundwater.
Similar waterless systems are used at data centers.
At the East Hampton Town Board meeting coming up on Tuesday, representatives from the D.E.C. are expected to answer questions about the report.
"My main focus is to ensure that residents' drinking water is protected," Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said in an email. "Today I have demanded that the operator of the BESS facilities in East Hampton and Montauk confirm immediately that the fire suppression agent, Novec 1230, has been properly removed from both facilities and disposed of outside the Town of East Hampton" by Sept. 18.
"I am looking forward to Tuesday’s work session presentation from the N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health, as it is important that we follow the science and all move in lockstep towards protecting our residents' health."
"I've reached out to Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine to see what our next legal course of action is," East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said Friday. "I want this place shut down until they can provide assurances that it's safe to operate. Our main purpose as a local government is public safety. It's frustrating a fire could break out there tomorrow with the same result."
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This article has been updated since it was first published to include comments from Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.
