A federal regulator found Hyundai Motor Group’s recently opened $7.6 billion electric vehicle factory near Savannah does not need to change its water supply and environmental plans, following a rare reassessment and threats of legal action.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed a reevaluation of a previously issued wetland permit for Hyundai’s 2,906-acre factory site in Bryan County. Known as a 404 permit, it allowed Hyundai to dredge and fill wetlands and evaluated how the 16 million-square-foot factory would affect the Floridan aquifer and nearby counties’ water supplies.
The reassessment was prompted last summer by the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, which filed an intent-to-sue notice in June over the permit, alleging the Army Corps and U.S. Treasury Department failed to properly assess the massive plant’s water needs. The primary complaint was four wells in neighboring Bulloch County that would benefit the Hyundai factory and other new development in Bryan County but were not included in the Corps’ initial 404 permit review.
On March 25, the Corps informed state and local economic development agencies that the Bryan County site’s permit “is valid and requires no changes.” In a memo, the review found Hyundai’s project will have a “minor long-term effect” on the area’s water supply, but its overall environmental impacts will be “insignificant.”
The two government entities that recruited Hyundai’s factory to Bryan County — the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority and Georgia Department of Economic Development — said they were pleased with the outcome of the additional review.
“The Savannah JDA and GDEcD appreciate the (Army Corps’) thoroughness and remain dedicated to supporting industry and agriculture while protecting and preserving the environment,” they said in a joint statement.
Hyundai, which celebrated the opening of its Metaplant last month, referred The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to the statement by the Savannah JDA and GDEcD.
State and local officials wooed Hyundai to Bryan County with a package of incentives valued at up to $1.8 billion, including hundreds of millions for water infrastructure, provided Hyundai meets jobs and investment goals.
Ben Kirsch, legal director for the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, said the full decision documents have been requested from the Army Corps “to understand how it came to this conclusion.”
“The assessment changed the impact to ‘minor long-term impact,’ but we do not yet know what, if any, ramifications that will come from that,” Kirsch said. “Until we review that decision document, we cannot offer substantive comments, but we continue to monitor actions around this permit closely.”
Credit: Courtesy Hyundai Motor Group
Credit: Courtesy Hyundai Motor Group
Environmental review
The Bryan County project site, which hugs the Ogeechee, has been earmarked for a large development since 2014, undergoing several environmental reviews over the past decade.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division oversees water infrastructure and usage, while the Army Corps regulates protected wetlands. Concerns over the plant’s potential effects on local water supplies have sparked concern from local farmers, activists and environmental watchdogs like the Ogeechee Riverkeeper.
Several counties near the factory have legal limits on how much water they can draw from the Floridan aquifer, which underlies much of Georgia, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. The Army Corps completed its initial evaluation and issued the 404 permit in October 2022.
But since then, plans emerged to drill four wells in neighboring Bulloch County to withdraw up to 6.5 million gallons of water per day to serve Bryan County development projects, namely Hyundai’s factory. The Corps’ second review primarily centered on the water and environmental impacts of those four wells.
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
Trip Tollison, the Savannah area’s chief economic development official, told the AJC last summer that local agencies had adhered to the Army Corps’ required guidelines and would provide the newly requested information for the reassessment. The EPD approved the Bulloch wells plan in October.
Bulloch and Bryan counties, Hyundai and other stakeholders have established a $1 million mitigation fund to help property owners affected by the water withdrawals to pay for well upgrades, but local residents still fear they’ll be left high and dry.
In their joint statement, the Savannah JDA and GDEcD said the Army Corps’ memo “addresses a number of public letters shared during the reevaluation period, noting their concerns about environmental issues are either unfounded, inaccurate or irrelevant to the permit and (the Army Corps) role.”
The reassessment also found Hyundai’s factory would have no impact on threatened or endangered species in the area.
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