A Fulton County Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by three residents who are fighting the building of a lithium-ion battery storage facility project that abuts their neighborhood.
The residents are considering an appeal. Attorney Linda Dunlavy filed the lawsuit last October on behalf of South Fulton residents Carmen Miller, Steven Mack and Norman North to stop the project from moving forward. They and their neighbors worry that such battery energy storage facilities are dangerous and point to uncontrollable fires at similar facilities.
The project property is located in College Park and borders South Fulton on three sides, including adjoining Miller, Mack and North’s properties.
The city of College Park, NextEra Energy Resources and its entity Boulevard Associates were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. On Feb. 27, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss.
The 62-acre project property where the plant containing 250 megawatts of lithium-ion energy storage will be constructed is owned by NextEra.
In his order to dismiss the court case, McAfee states that the lawsuit was not filed within 30 days of when College Park City Council approved rezoning for the project property in March 2024. The 30-day requirement is state law.
College Park issued a statement last week through city attorney Winston Denmark saying, “The decision confirms that the City Council approval and our rezoning efforts followed the appropriate legal procedures.”
NextEra Energy Resources did not answer SaportaReport’s request for comment on this story.
The 2024 public hearing and rezoning approval did not follow normal procedures. It took place without public notice, a presentation by NextEra representatives, or supporting documents. The rezoning had previously been denied in 2023 following South Fulton residents’ objections.
Dunlavy said that she and her clients will decide on whether to appeal the court decision soon. The appeal would have to be filed before the end of the month.
Dunlavy said there are numerous court cases won by plaintiffs who filed their lawsuit beyond 30 days of the political body’s rezoning decision. In one instance, the plaintiff challenged the rezoning 13 years later, she said.
“Theres a line of cases that say if you fail to follow mandated procedures, your decision is void,” Dunlavy added. “If its void, it’s void for all time, not just 30 days.”
Her legal fees are being paid for by a community fundraising effort led by College Park resident Mose James IV.
“I think the best case scenario is that we get a redo… and [College Park has] to do a proper public hearing,” James IV said. “We’re going up against a juggernaut of a company that has millions of dollars to invest in [lawsuits], along with College Park.”
South Fulton resident Connie Patterson said the community has not been informed of emergency procedures if a fire or explosion occurs at the plant, adding that her neighborhood has limited access. It’s an issue that was discussed by the College Park City Council in 2023 before rezoning was initially denied.
“We just need to know that when we sleep at night, we’re safe,” Patterson said.
This is emblematic of the intellectual sins and upsie down logic that intellectually “moral” environmentalist evangelists commit.
Its almost like saying that the mining, assaying, refining, and shipping of metals used in solar panels uses, as a percentage, LESS energy than that solar panel will produce over its life-time .
Though this org seems primarily focused on Data Centers, they may take on lithium battery projects like yours, given the environmental risks it poses. Pls see https://ceds.org/eqs/