Following a closed session at the start of the Sept. 1 meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, board members and attendees shared a moment of silence to honor the Aug. 22 passing of Trustee William Frazier. Supervisor Kevin McNamara remarked that Frazier’s “quiet dedication, kindness and genuine commitment to the community will be deeply missed.”
Following the tribute, the board continued to regular business, with a special land use request for Staghorn LLC’s proposed 200-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) dominating much of the evening.
The Planning Commission recommended that the board deny the request, citing public health and safety concerns, particularly fire risks, as well as land-use compatibility and township development goals.
Public comment brought eight residents to the podium whose opinions on the project were divided. Supporters emphasized the economic benefits, such as $37 million in property taxes over the project’s lifetime, as well as grid resiliency.
Those in opposition raised concerns about potential noise pollution, proximity to neighboring schools and farms, a lack of data surrounding lithium-ion industrial storage, and the risk of toxic fire plumes.
The board echoed the reservations about toxic plumes and questioned the potential need for evacuation and HAZMAT teams, requesting to know exactly which chemical compounds were present that would necessitate them.
Fire safety expert Michael O’Brian explained that chemical testing is still ongoing, and they do not know the full off-gas profile at this time. He stated that there is “carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and then it’s a myriad of things after that.” O’Brian also noted that the industry is seeing a very low failure rate for the number of units installed.
Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Lenaghan clarified that the HAZMAT team would only be brought in for air monitoring and that they would rely on plume modeling from the EPA to determine if evacuations or shelter-in-place are necessary.
Additionally, Staghorn’s parent company (RWE Clean Energy) will be providing ongoing training to Van Buren firefighters as the project progresses and no construction will take place until the fire chief gives final safety approval.
Before the vote, external legal counsel for RWE Michael Vogt formally asked the board to deviate from the Planning Commission’s recommendation and approve the request. He reminded the board that Public Act 233 allows large energy project developers to bypass local government and take their application directly to the Michigan Public Service Commission, but RWE is committed to “collaborate and permit this project locally with the township.” Vogt cited examples of this collaboration including RWE’s willingness to decrease the decibel threshold by 10 decibels, quadruple its required setbacks from the road and add berms and vegetation.
Trustee Donald Boynton Jr. moved to follow the Planning Commission’s recommendation and deny the special land use request, but the motion failed as it did not receive any support.
Treasurer Sherry Budd then motioned for the request to be sent back to the Planning Commission, which was seconded by Clerk Leon Wright. Wright supported the motion, stating that he could not vote against it at that time as municipal engineers and the fire department had no issues with the project and he believed planners should conduct further study.
The board voted unanimously to send the request back to the Planning Commission.
In other business at the 174-minute meeting, the board:
- Approved job descriptions for four staff positions and executed personal service agreements for three of them: Elizabeth Renaud as Director of Projects and Grants, Tammy Dohring as Director of Operations, and Serrita Williams as Human Resource Generalist. The Director of Marketing and Programming role remains vacant.
- Congratulated Deputy Township Supervisor Dan Selman on passing the Harvard Kennedy School Public Leadership Credential;
- Greenlit the Water and Sewer Department to purchase a Huber Sewer Combo SC1512 Sewer Cleaner in the amount of $613,416.26;
- Gave final approval to the Belleville Road Overlay District ordinance following its second reading, updating building height limits to accommodate future development;
- Enthusiastically approved the demolition and reconstruction of a 3,400-square-foot gasoline filling station at 11530 Belleville Road; and
- Received a request from local HOA President Mike Monroe for an ordinance to ban rifle hunting within the township, following Michigan DNR’s elimination of restrictions limiting southern Michigan hunters to shotguns and short-range firearms. The board assured him they would be actively looking into it.
The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m. All board members were present.