US Media "Hyundai Motor Georgia New Plant, Permit Process Under Review"

Local Environmental Groups Raise Possibility of Lawsuit Against US Federal Government
"Hyundai Motor's New US Plant Did Not Properly Assess Environmental Impact"

Local media including AP reported on the 26th (local time) that the U.S. federal government has decided to reexamine the environmental permits previously granted by the state government for the new factory Hyundai Motor Group is building in Georgia. This is a large-scale project to build a battery joint venture and a complete vehicle plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 units, currently in the final stages of construction aiming to start operations in October this year.

According to the reports, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received complaints from environmental groups claiming that regulators failed to properly assess the impact of the new Hyundai factory on the local water supply. Previously, local environmental organizations such as Ogeechee Riverkeeper argued that the state government granted permits without properly evaluating the environmental impact of the project, underestimating the scale of the new factory. Earlier in June this year, environmental groups expressed their intention to file lawsuits against the Corps of Engineers, which issued the permits, and the U.S. Treasury Department, which provided project funding.

Chairman Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor Group (fifth from the left) and Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, USA (sixth from the left), among others, are taking a commemorative photo at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new plant in 2022.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

Hyundai Motor Group began construction of the “Hyundai Metaplant America (HMGMA)” factory in Bryan County, Georgia, in October 2022. The Georgia state government praised it as the largest development project ever, creating more than 8,000 new jobs.

Originally targeting completion in the first half of 2025, the company now expects to start vehicle production from October this year by advancing the operation schedule. Initially planned as an electric vehicle-only plant, the company decided to also produce hybrid vehicles due to anticipated weak demand. If the environmental review reveals issues, the full-scale operation or start of mass production could be delayed somewhat.

According to a recent letter from the Corps of Engineers, Georgia and the local economic development agency, which applied for the factory permit in 2022, did not mention that Hyundai uses 25 million liters of water daily drawn from an underground aquifer that serves as a drinking water source for residents. In this context, Georgia environmental authorities began considering building four new wells to supply water to Hyundai, which clarified the factory’s industrial water demand.

The Corps initially judged the water usage impact as “negligible,” but decided to reexamine after additional detailed information emerged. Ben Cush, legal counsel for the environmental groups, told AP in an interview, “Concentrating pumps in one area will affect wells used for households and agriculture,” adding, “There are questions about the impact on natural springs, wetlands, streams, and tributaries near the factory.”

Hyundai Motor Group's first electric vehicle-only factory, Hyundai Metaplant America, being built in Georgia, USA. The plan has been changed to also produce hybrid vehicles.
[Photo by Yonhap News, AP]

For now, the factory construction project will not be halted until the reexamination results are released. The Army Corps of Engineers did not specify the duration of the additional review period. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division expects that the federal-level reexamination will have little chance of affecting the final decision or delaying the project. The local economic development agency stated that nothing was intentionally concealed during the project’s permit process.

HMGMA said, “We acknowledge the request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are confident that the Georgia Department of Economic Development will appropriately provide relevant data to the agencies and organizations involved,” adding, “We are working with the government and others to assure that this project will not negatively impact local water resources.”

The new factory will produce various electric and hybrid vehicles under the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands, including the Ioniq 5. Under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), only electric vehicles produced locally qualify for tax credit benefits, so Hyundai Motor Group needed to assemble electric vehicles at a local plant. This was one of the reasons for building the large new factory quickly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.