Letter to DEC Commissioner Seggos Regarding the SungEel Battery Recycling Facility

Basil Seggos, Commissioner
Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, New York 12233-0001

Dear Commissioner Seggos,

I have received many questions from constituents regarding the SungEel battery recycling facility slated for Endicott. While this project was viewed favorably when it was announced and is seen by many as a green jobs initiative, using a green manufacturing process, concerns still persist.

I appreciate the efforts your department has undertaken thus far on this project, including going through the permitting process, even though the company had qualified for the simpler registration. You also extended last fall’s public comment period at my request, and provided the March 29th response document which I have shared with many constituents. However, given the history of industrial contamination in this part of our community, I am sure you can understand that concerns still persist.

As you know, Empire State Development recruited SungEel to Endicott in order to form a battery partnership with Dr. Stan Whittingham, inventor of the lithium ion battery, and Dr. Shailesh Upreti, Director of Imperium3, developer of the next generation of batteries. Nonetheless, many in the broader community were not well informed of these developments and are understandably concerned about a new industrial process coming to the village. I would greatly appreciate if your agency could provide answers to the following questions that continue to arise.

  • Can you provide a summary of DEC’s review of the Endicott project?
  • How were public comments used in issuing the final permit?
  • Was the review based solely on information provided by the company, or was independent data and information solicited as well?
  • Can you provide details on the safety requirements the company must comply with in order to operate under the issued permit?
  • Was an accident analysis done for this type of facility?
  • Will PFAS be a byproduct of the process occurring at the Endicott facility?
  • Can you provide details on the dioxin testing for the facility?
  • Will an emission monitoring system be put in place at this facility?

Sincerely,
Donna A. Lupardo
Member of Assembly