Moss Landing residents file lawsuit against Vistra weeks after battery facility fire

A group of Moss Landing residents – with the support of famed environmentalist Erin Brockovich – has filed a lawsuit against Vistra Corp., Pacific Gas & Electric and other defendants over the Moss Landing power plant fire on Jan. 16. Meanwhile, a protest on Saturday brought 60 residents to decry the accident.

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 4 by Mary-Eliza Schmidt, Austin Walker, Sheryl Renee Davidson and Bruce Thomas, alleges that the facility’s owner, Vistra Corp., failed to implement adequate fire safety measures including proper maintenance, thermal runaway prevention and compliance with updated fire safety standards. 

Schmidt, Walker, Davidson and Thomas — who all live in the area around the power plant — are pushing for an investigation into what caused the fire, compensation for damages and disruptions caused by the fire, and an industry-wide adoption of updated safety standards for battery storage facilities. 

The fire broke out on Jan. 16 at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant, one of the largest battery storage facilities in the county, and burned for days. The blaze led to evacuation orders for areas south of Elkhorn Slough and closed part of Highway 1 around the facility. 

Evacuations have since been lifted. Monterey County officials have said there are no immediate health risks, despite residents like Schmidt, Walker, Davidson and Thomas experiencing exposure symptoms, such as headaches, sore throats and metallic tastes in their mouths. 

The number of plaintiffs is expected to grow “exponentially,” said Knut Johnson, senior counsel with Singleton Schreiber, the law firm representing the residents. “This is your typical David-versus-Goliath scenario. We got the citizens versus these big corporations, and they can stall and drag [the lawsuit] out.”

The residents named in the lawsuit have reported having bloody noses, skin and lung problems following the battery storage facility fire in January. 

Apart from Vistra, the lawsuit also names PG&E and South Korean-based LG Energy Solution, among others. LG manufactured the batteries used at the Moss Landing facility, Johnson said. The law firm believes the two companies — PG&E and LG Energy Solution — participated in the design and implementation at Vistra’s plant. 

“There is no doubt that PG&E and Vistra collaborated very heavily in designing the plant, putting it together,” he said. Johnson added that in documents from the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E was authorized to control the type of equipment used at the Moss Landing battery storage facility and referred to the Texas-based company as its partner in this project. 

“PG&E is storing electricity there for [its] use before it goes out to the public,” said Johnson. “They’re both utilities, and we think all those things and other reasons mean that they’re jointly responsible for the harm done to the community.” 

Cleanup costs are a big part of the compensation — the amount of money the residents are asking for has not been determined. One problem with chemicals, Johnson said, is that they can’t be cleaned up via usual methods. 

“It’s like pushing leaves around with a leaf blower, it’s not gonna make a difference,” he said. “You might make yourself sick doing it, and you can harm someone else.”

Singleton Schreiber will be hosting a virtual town hall on Tuesday to answer questions regarding the lawsuit. Brockovich will be attending the event, Johnson said. Brockovich’s work as a whistleblower in a case against PG&E in Hinkley, California, in the 1990s resulted in the largest environmental settlement of its kind at the time. Her story also became the subject of a movie starring Julia Roberts.

In addition to the town hall, community advocate group Never Again Moss Landing held a protest near the power plant and battery storage facility on Saturday to highlight the fire’s impact on the community and to voice their concerns. Approximately 60 people stood with banners and placards to listen to speakers and to show support for an investigation and more information.

Monterey County officials released preliminary data last month from testing soil for cobalt, manganese, nickel and copper at eight sites near the battery storage facility. The preliminary test suggests emissions from the fire affected one of the eight sites, while the rest showed low concentration levels of heavy metals, the county said. 

The county also collected water samples from tanks located on Dolan Road, Paradise Road, Elkhorn Road and Highway 1 north of Moss Landing. Water samples were tested for the same heavy metals as the soil, and preliminary tests show that levels did not exceed water drinking standards, according to the county.

Last month, researchers from San Jose State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories said they found high levels of nickel, cobalt and manganese in soil at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve adjacent to the battery storage facility. The materials are all extremely toxic to aquatic and land animals, including humans. 

Data collected from SJSU researchers is currently unavailable to the public; Monterey and Santa Cruz county officials also do not have access to the data. 

At last month’s Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors meeting, Monterey County officials and a representative from Vistra provided an overview of the fire and the county’s response to the incident just south of the Santa Cruz County line. 

Vistra is currently conducting its own investigation on the fire and how it started, according to Brad Watson, senior director of community affairs for Vistra. He said it’s still unclear when the company will determine the cause of the blaze. The company is also offering $750 gift cards to families who have been affected by the fire.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.