Worthington Planning Board Presses Blue Wave on Water Safety, Battery Siting Conditions

WORTHINGTON — January 2, 2026 — Worthington Planning Board spends two and a half hours dissecting unresolved conditions for a Blue Wave solar-battery project that straddles the town's drinking water district. The board met January 2 with consulting planner Beth and was joined late in the session by Fire Chief Mike Don Diego, who flagged a detailed review he is conducting of NFPA 855 battery storage standards and raised questions about equipment replacement schedules, fire suppression inspections, and the absence of any fee mechanism for the volunteer fire department to recover inspection costs. Beth read from a Blue Wave email signaling the developer may move its northern battery equipment pad out of the Water Supply Protection District, but board members cautioned that solar panel posts drilled into bedrock would remain a contamination risk regardless, and said they would seek annual water quality monitoring, noise testing at abutters, helical posts, PFAS-free equipment specifications, and pollution insurance as permit conditions. The board set a January 5 planning session to advance the hiring of a technical engineering reviewer, a January 8 public hearing, and a tentative January 13 all-boards meeting with the Select Board — with members estimating the full permitting process could stretch six months or more.