I, hereby sign this petition; a concerned citizen and taxpayer of the Town of Islip and/or resident of the Hauppauge school district,  I stand in firm opposition to the proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility on Rabro Drive in Hauppauge.

These facilities have been proven to pose severe dangers to public health, safety, and the environment. Across the country and internationally, megawatt battery storage sites have experienced catastrophic fires, explosions, and toxic chemical releases. These incidents  have required mass evacuations and overwhelmed emergency response teams. One which our community, our firefighters, and our school district  cannot afford or combat effectively or efficiently due to the high risk of thermal runway reactions with each battery cell. 

Such risks have no place in our community. I call upon the Town of Islip to extend its moratorium on all BESS facilities, as other towns have done, until comprehensive safety studies, zoning protections, and independent environmental reviews can be completed. Our lives, our homes, and our families should not be jeopardized by hazardous development projects. Our School Board and our Fire Department have both condemned the BESS Facility and have stressed the dangers to the residents and students in this community. You have an obligation to listen. There is no clear evacuation plan for us as residents or the schools that are all within 1.5 miles of the purposed site. This site poses the threat of  a potentially fatal incident with next to no accountability or responsibility on behalf of this company to maintain its safety for our community. It’s not a question of if but when a fire happens;  as this will be one of the largest facilities  in the state. 

As many residents cannot attend  town meetings due to work obligations, I request that this petition be entered into the official record on this issue.

The responsibility of the Town Board is to protect its constituents. Approving this project would recklessly endanger the people you serve. I urge you to take immediate action to halt the approval  of the Rabro Drive BESS project by extending the moratorium on its development.