Delaware County Board of Supervisors and All Whom It May Concern:
I am writing as a resident of Delaware County, New York, to strongly oppose the siting of battery energy storage facilities on protected watershed lands.
These lands were purchased and preserved by New York City for one essential reason: to protect drinking water. Clean water is not optional. It is necessary for human survival, public health, and the health of wildlife and ecosystems. Using watershed land for industrial energy infrastructure directly contradicts the purpose for which this land was protected.
Battery storage facilities introduce serious and well-documented risks, especially in environmentally sensitive areas like watersheds.
These include:
• Fire risk: Lithium-ion battery fires are extremely difficult to extinguish and can burn for days, releasing toxic smoke and contaminated runoff.
• Threats to water quality: Firefighting runoff and damaged batteries can introduce heavy metals and chemicals into soil, streams, and groundwater.
• Environmental damage: Construction requires clearing land, building access roads, installing fencing and lighting, and ongoing maintenance, all of which disrupt habitat and fragment ecosystems.
These risks are not theoretical. In Orange County, in the town of Warwick, a battery storage facility has experienced multiple fires, including a recent incident that required emergency response and raised serious concerns about public health and safety. If such an event were to occur in a watershed, the consequences for drinking water could be irreversible.
Watershed lands exist to reduce risk, not absorb it. Even a single fire or chemical release in a protected watershed could threaten water supplies, wildlife, and downstream communities. No amount of climate benefit can justify placing that level of danger at the source of our drinking water.
Renewable energy is important, but location matters. Some places are simply inappropriate for industrial infrastructure. Protected watershed lands are among them.
I urge decision-makers, environmental organizations, and regulatory agencies to reject any proposal to place battery energy storage facilities on watershed lands in Delaware County and to reaffirm that these lands must remain dedicated to protecting water, health, and life itself.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Dana Scuderi-Hunter
Andes
