Deal reached to clear burned batteries from Moss Landing plant months after fire

MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KGO) -- Six months after a raging battery plant fire set off air quality alerts in multiple counties, a plan is finally in place to clean up Vistra's facility in Moss Landing.

Vistra Corp is starting a year-long effort to remove the damaged batteries still sitting there in Monterey County after cleanup has been at a standstill for months.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced they reached an agreement with Vistra Corp to clear the burned batteries.

The 75-page agreement outlines more than 30 safety plans and procedures Vistra must complete under EPA's oversight.

MORE: PG&E delays reopening of Moss Landing battery facility after discovering leak

PG&E is delaying when they will reactivate their battery storage facility in Moss Landing following a fire at neighboring Vistra Energy.

Kazami Brockman is an On Scene Coordinator with the EPA Emergency Response Program.

"The procedures all contain some sort of safety component - while the batteries are being handled, they're being monitored by the thermal cameras," Brockman said.

Brockman said each of the battery modules is a couple hundred pounds and requires individual assessment and handling in order to properly deal with it.

Vistra is required to implement air monitoring and air sampling around the site during demolition. In case of a fire, they must have a private firefighting company on-site 24/7.

Vista representative David Yeager discussed the agreement during a Monterey County community news briefing.

"We just really wanted emphasize also that it prioritizes worker safety, community needs and environmental protection," Yeager said. "This will also advance our investigation into this incident as well. We are not going to be able to enter other parts of the building that have been inaccessible up to this point."

MORE: Another fire at Moss Landing battery facility raises health and air quality concerns

There was another fire at the Vistra Energy battery storage facility near Moss Landing in Monterey County on Tuesday night.

The process of cleaning up the batteries will be quite a feat. Due to the scale of the facility and the 100,000 damaged batteries inside, cleanup could take a year.

ABC7 spoke with Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church.

"Well I wish this could've happened a little quicker. What is this? Six months out basically," Church said.

Supervisor Church said there are valid community and environmental concerns. The Moss Landing battery plant is tucked within a populated community, and neighbors Elkhorn Slough.

"It's important that if we're going to go ahead with green clean energy, that people have faith in it," Church said. "No technology is perfect, I don't care how much you want to think it's good there's always shortfalls, there's always bad outcomes and this has offered an opportunity to say ok, we need to fix these areas."

Vistra will pay for the battery cleanup and removal process.