Accomack supervisors approve ordinance to regulate battery storage, add safety, decommissioning and training requirements

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors voted March 18 to adopt zoning amendments aimed at regulating battery energy storage systems (BESS), adding mandatory safety, siting and financial-assurance measures after supervisors pressed staff about fire risks, water access and coordination with volunteer fire companies.

Lee Grama, deputy county administrator for community and economic development, told the board the ordinance would allow BESS "only by conditional use permit in the Industrial I District" and require a package of studies and agreements, including a site plan, landscape plan, a noise study and an emergency-response plan. Grama said the draft also requires decommissioning and remediation financial assurances and includes a 200-foot setback that the board may reduce to 100 feet only if additional physical protections are provided.

Several supervisors raised safety concerns during a lengthy exchange. One supervisor said the board should be reluctant to approve reduced setbacks: "There's no way I think... we would wanna get within that 100 feet," citing firefighter practice of establishing 300-foot perimeters around some battery fires and the large volumes of water such fires can consume. Another asked whether the county had consulted statewide bodies; supervisors pressed staff to route plans to public-safety reviewers and to coordinate training with local volunteer fire companies.

Grama said the 200-foot setback was drawn from the National Fire Protection Association guidance staff reviewed and that the ordinance would require standpipes, early detection, remote monitoring and a fixed water supply where appropriate. He also said remediation bonds (cash surety or a letter of credit) would be posted before approval to guard against abandonment or bankruptcy.

The board approved the ordinance after a friendly amendment directing staff to consult with the State Fire Chiefs Association and other statewide resources to identify whether additional tweaks were needed, and to ensure the county's public-safety director would be involved in reviewing emergency-response plans. The motion passed by voice vote.

The ordinance leaves key project-level decisions to the conditional-use process and staff review while establishing minimum public-safety and financial requirements the county said it will enforce. The board’s action sets a new local framework for any future battery storage applications and signals an emphasis on fire-suppression readiness and remediation funding as preconditions for approval.

The ordinance was approved as amended; supervisors agreed staff would return with any recommended clarifications or additional provisions informed by state fire safety experts.