State regulators released draft permits Monday for four new groundwater wells planned in South Georgia to serve Hyundai’s $7.6 billion electric vehicle factory despite vocal opposition from residents concerned about how the withdrawals will impact their water supplies.
The factory, which Hyundai calls its Metaplant, is Georgia’s largest-ever economic development project, which the company promises will employ 8,500. It is located in north Bryan County, about 25 miles west of downtown Savannah. But like other parts of coastal Georgia, Bryan County has groundwater pumping restrictions in place to limit saltwater intrusion into the underlying aquifer.
To get around the limits, state and local officials have planned to serve the factory by drilling wells in neighboring Bulloch County, where the same constraints don’t exist.
Release of the draft permits by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) opens a public comment period that runs through Aug. 20. After that window closes, EPD typically reviews comments it receives — a process that often takes months and depends on the amount and type of feedback it receives. After that is complete, the agency will decide whether or not to issue final permits.
Under the draft terms, the four wells combined would be allowed to suck up to 6.6 million gallons of water each day out of the Floridan aquifer. Two wells would be owned by Bryan County and two others would belong to Bulloch.
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
As Hyundai races to begin EV production before the end of this year, the plan to pump water across county lines has been a growing source of controversy.
In public meetings, dozens of Bulloch residents have said they fear the withdrawals will cause residential and agricultural wells to go dry. Earlier this year, EPD staff shared modeling with the public showing the pumping to supply Hyundai and other development in the area could lower the water table by as much as 19 feet within a five-mile radius of the wells.
In early June, the Ogeechee Riverkeeper notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Treasury Department that it plans to sue the two government agencies over allegations that they failed to properly assess the environmental impacts of the EV factory.
Late last month, the Bulloch Board of Commissioners approved a pair of agreements they said established an initial framework for how the counties will share the costs of supplying water to Hyundai and help affected residents. For nearly 90 minutes at the same meeting, angry constituents criticized commissioners for putting the interests of state officials and the EV factory ahead of their own by approving the deals.
The draft permits include special conditions that could help those impacted pay for well upgrades and protect the aquifer, but details still need to be worked out between the two counties. Among those provisions are:
- A requirement that Bryan and Bulloch officials develop a “mitigation fund” to assist affected well owners within a five-mile radius of the I-16 and Ga. Highway 119 interchange, a rough midpoint between the four planned well locations. In a recent vote, Bulloch commissioners approved a “memorandum of understanding” outlining which residents would be eligible for compensation, but the fund itself and payment mechanisms have not been established. The draft permits say no water can be pumped from the wells until the fund is in place.
- A requirement that officials “expeditiously” develop alternate water supplies for Hyundai, with a 25-year deadline for local governments to move the factory off groundwater. If final permits are issued, the counties will have six months to provide EPD a list of potential water supplies to serve the plant. Each year, county officials will also have to submit a progress report to the agency with updates on their efforts to develop non-groundwater sources for the factory.
EPD will hold a meeting for the public to weigh in on the draft permits on Aug. 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Southeast Bulloch High School Auditorium located at 9184 Brooklet-Denmark Highway in Brooklet, about 10 miles southeast of Statesboro.
EPD is also accepting public comments on the draft permits until Aug. 20. Feedback can be submitted by email at EPDComments@dnr.ga.gov or by mail addressed to the Environmental Protection Division, Watershed Protection Branch, Suite 1470A East Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., Atlanta, Ga. 30334. Comments submitted must include the words “Groundwater Applications for Bryan County Mega-Site” in the subject line, the agency said.
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