Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, and Monterey County District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church held a press conference in Moss Landing today, Jan. 23 with a twofold purpose: for Addis to talk about a bill she introduced Jan. 22, and for Church to give an update from the county's perspective.
Addis spoke first in front of the smalll gaggle of reporters and residents in attendance, and started by saying she'd just returned from a special legislative session in Sacramento to approve $2.5 billion of aid to go toward responding to the aftermath of the devastating fires in L.A. County earlier this month.
"We know responses are much more expensive than prevention," Addis said, adding the local battery plants are in a highly sensitive environmental area, whether it be Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary or Elkhorn Slough, a federal research reserve.
She noted that she, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (District 28) and State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, recently sent a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission asking the agency, among other things, "to conduct a fully transparent investigation into the root cause" of the Jan. 16 fire at Vistra Moss Landing Battery Plant, which burned for days.
In the bill she introduced, Addis wants to see limitations on where battery plants can be located (i.e. in a flood zone, sensitive habitat, etc.). She also wants at least a 300-foot setback from schools or homes.
A state law went into effect in 2023 that precludes local control in such energy projects, and she wants to change that. "We believe it's important for the local community to have a voice," she said. "I deeply believe California must never have a disaster like this again."
Church spoke to the "haphazard regulations for a very new industry," and echoed Addis' call for an independent investigation.
Church said the cleanup from the fire at the plant and surrounding area "will take weeks if not months." He says some batteries are half-burned, and might emit some smoke, so those onsite will have to operate with caution.
He said water, soil, debris and dust testing is being initiated, and the county's Environmental Health department is working in tandem with three state agencies: Cal EPA, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
"We cannot keep going ahead without the proper regulation," he said. "We cannot go forward without the comfort that we need."