US regulators finish review of Hyundai plant's Georgia water permit,
finding no changes needed
[April 11, 2025] By
RUSS BYNUM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — U.S. regulators have concluded a monthslong review
of their environmental permit for Hyundai’s $7.6 billion electric
vehicle plant in Georgia, finding that no changes are needed.
The Army Corps of Engineers agreed to revisit the permit last August
after a conservation group threatened to sue. The Ogeechee Riverkeeper
group said the agency failed to consider potential impacts to the
region's main drinking water supply from the factory using up to 6.6
million gallons (25 million liters) daily.
No revisions to the site's federal permit are needed, the Army Corps
said in a March 25 memo to the Georgia Department of Economic
Development and local economic developers that applied for the Hyundai
project’s 2022 permit.
"The impacts on the environment as a result of this permit have been
evaluated and found to be insignificant,” the agency's memo said.
The Army Corps said it determined the EV plant would have “a long-term
minor effect” on the area’s drinking water supply. That conclusion
differs from the wording federal regulators used when assessing the
original permit in 2022, when they concluded water supply impacts would
be “negligible.”
Hyundai began producing EVs just six months ago at the sprawling
manufacturing plant in Bryan County west of Savannah, with 1,200
employees working at the site. Hyundai executives celebrated the plant's
opening last month by announcing plans to expand its production capacity
by two-thirds to a total of 500,000 vehicles per year.
The Army Corps permit obtained by state and local economic developers
authorized the filling or dredging of 221 acres (89 hectares) of
wetlands at the plant site just a few months after Hyundai announced
plans to build its EV factory in May 2022.
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The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is seen, March 26, 2025,
in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)
The initial permit application made
no mention of how much water the 2,900-acre (1,170-hectare) factory
would use. The riverkeeper group has said it is concerned the
plant's consumption could divert water from wells used by area
farmers, as well as streams and wetlands.
Ben Kirsch, legal director for the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, said the
group has requested additional records from the Army Corps to better
understand its conclusions and the wording changes regarding water
impacts.
“We do not yet know what, if any, ramifications will come from
that,” Kirsch said in a statement. "Until we review that decision
document, we cannot offer substantive comments, but we continue to
monitor actions around this permit closely.”
Bianca Johnson, a spokesperson for Hyundai's Georgia plant, said the
automaker had no comment.
State and local officials who recruited Hyundai to Georgia praised
the Army Corps for the “thoroughness” of its permit review.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Savannah
area's Joint Development Authority said in a statement that they
“remain dedicated to supporting industry and agriculture while
protecting and preserving the environment.”
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