EPA's Lee Zeldin makes battery safety pitch as New York environmentalists criticize his record
Lee Zeldin, President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency administrator, returned to New York's Long Island on Monday to focus on the safety of battery storage plants.
The EPA leader's appearance in his home state came just weeks after the agency dealt another major blow to the fight against global warming.
Zeldin announces 1st EPA guidance on BESS plants
Back home on Long Island, Zeldin announced the EPA's first national guidance on controversial battery energy storage systems.
The agency takes no stance on BESS plants, but he called for local control over their approvals.
"There are toxic emissions. There are water quality impacts. It's the people in this room who are going to have to answer that call to put it out," the former New York congressman and Republican nominee for governor said.
After two recent destructive fires in California, firefighters and residents are alarmed in Hauppauge and Holtsville, where battery storage facilities are proposed.
"It's unreasonable to expect our volunteer firefighters who have families and jobs to handle a disaster of this magnitude," Hauppauge Fire Department Commissioner Scott Monroe said.
"We cannot have these battery storage facilities in our neighborhoods," New York State Sen. Mario Mattera said.
Zeldin suggested government can "railroad" or "steamroll" over local opposition, but a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said that's categorically false and battery storage is already a local decision.
Environmental leaders call out Zeldin
Environmental leaders said it's disingenuous for Zeldin to talk about safety as he dismantles climate regulations.
"We have seen major environmental initiatives get rolled back under this administration, in a way we never dreamed would happen," Adrienne Esposito, with Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said.
According to Hochul's energy advisor, New York currently has among "the most stringent battery energy storage regulations in the country," which are praised by New York City fire safety experts.
But Zeldin blasted the state's green energy policies, which he says are costing the state federal funding.
"We have chosen to protect the environment and grow the economy. We do not accept that it's a binary choice," Zeldin said.
Most Long Island towns already have moratoriums on battery storage facilities while safety is under review. But the concern of many residents in these communities is that the state will try to supersede local rule.
Around three dozen additional proposals for battery storage facilities on Long Island are currently under review in a state list of potential sites.