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The Hyundai Metaplant will stop receiving water from the Florida aquifer in 15 years, a decade earlier than expected, thanks to an agreement between the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (JDA) and Ogeechee Riverkeeper.
The Bryan County Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Complex requires four million gallons of water from one day to the next. The Georgia Department of Environmental Protection has issued permits authorizing Bulloch and Bryan counties to withdraw the increased amount of water from the Florida aquifer, as well as an additional 2. 625 million gallons per day for commercial, residential and water development. HyundaiArray related warehouses
The leases cover 4 wells in Bulloch County, two owned by Bulloch County and two owned by Bryan County. “Special conditions” in the leases require that the wells be removed within 25 years and that withdrawals from the Florida aquifer be replaced with surface water or a select water source.
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper challenged the water withdrawal permits in November, about a month after EPD issued them on Oct. 7, 2024. A hearing on the matter had been set for Jan. 13, 2025 before a law judge administrative. But the nonprofit advocacy organization agreed to drop that challenge as part of the settlement.
Read the agreement here.
“This agreement demonstrates that environmental coverage and smart expansion are not mutually exclusive,” Damon Mullis, executive director of Ogeechee Riverkeeper and Riverkeeper, said in a statement. “In fact, this agreement constitutes an essential first step to guarantee a safe source of water for populations, agriculture and industry. Specifically, the shorter timeline and increased monitoring are vital first steps toward responsible management of our pristine aquifer and prioritization of drinking water and agricultural needs. ORK will continue to collaborate with all regional actors on long-term regional water planning.
The Riverkeeper focused its challenge on the use of pristine Floridan aquifer water for industry rather than prioritizing it for drinking water and agriculture. While all drinking water must meet federal standards for a host of pollutants, aquifer water, sitting in porous rock deep underground, is typically better protected from contamination by manmade chemicals. Rivers and creeks collect polluted runoff from farms and roads. Rivers also receive treated sewage and industrial pollution.
The Florida aquifer is subject to state-mandated pumping restrictions in certain spaces to prevent saltwater intrusion, as has already happened on Hilton Head Island. In the “red zone,” which includes all of Chatham County and the southern part of Effingham County, legal users reduced their allowed withdrawals by 30% between 2004 and 2010. Withdrawals decreased another 15% in 2020Array A relief of almost 10% in groundwater extraction in the red zone is planned for 2025.
The “yellow zone” includes Bryan and Liberty counties, where water withdrawals may have increased about 20 percent over the past two decades. However, a minimum of around 3. 5 percent is expected by 2025.
As the operator of all 4 wells, Bryan County will file an application with the EPD to modify the permit under the terms of the agreement, Trip Tollison, secretary/treasurer of the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority, said in an interview. with La Corriente.
In addition to accelerating water replacement in Florida’s aquifers, the agreement also calls for increased one- and six-month chloride monitoring for peak productivity wells in the county. The monitoring aims to provide an early precautionary formula for unwanted connections to deeper, saltier aquifers. Bryan County will pay for the monitoring, Tollison said.
JDA and Riverkeeper paid their own attorneys’ fees, expenses and prices similar to those in the settlement. The agreement states that it “should not be construed as an admission of the correctness of any legal position or an inference of guilt, liability or wrongdoing on the part of any component. “
Spokespersons for the Hyundai Metaplant did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Bulloch County Attorney Jeff Akins or Bryan County Commission Chairman Carter Infinger.
The use of surface water was rejected for the release of the plant because it would have taken 10 years longer to come into effect and cost approximately $362 million more than water from the Bulloch Well. Tollison said he was unsure whether speeding up the schedule now would increase the charge, but admitted it was possible.
“What I see driving higher prices is the desire to cancel easements and do it more temporarily rather than a blanket timeline,” he said.
He also warned that a long-planned solution to supply more surface water to the region is coming to fruition.
“There will be an announcement of the primary that we’ve been doing for years firmly by the governor, and that will be announced in the coming weeks,” Tollison said. “This will be real good luck when it comes to regional surface waters.
“I would say it will face many, if any, similar considerations to using the Florida aquifer for commercial purposes in northern Bryan County. “
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