US regulators finish review of Hyundai plant's Georgia water permit, finding no changes needed

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.

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.”