Q1: What is Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA)?
Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) will be the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Georgia. It will be situated on nearly 3,000 acres 20 miles west of Savannah, at the Bryan County Megasite.
Q2: How will HMGMA benefit Georgia?
The facility is Georgia’s largest economic development project in history. It represents an estimated $7.59 billion in investment and will create 8,500 new jobs for the region over the next eight years. Additionally, more than $2.5 billion in capital investment and approximately 6,900 jobs have been announced by HMGMA suppliers in 10 counties across the state.
These projects and direct and indirect jobs will add to local community tax bases, contributing to schools, public safety, healthcare and disposable income that will support other local businesses and services, as well as nonprofits.
Q3: Has the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (Savannah JDA) followed environmental permitting at the Bryan County Megasite?
Yes. Since 2014, the Bryan County Megasite has been under federal environmental review. We are not aware of another megasite in the country that has garnered more review from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Savannah JDA spent more than $27 million executing due diligence and environmental mitigation on the megasite before recruiting Hyundai Motor Group. Additionally, all state environmental procedures have been followed.
The Savannah JDA has been and remains committed to doing this the right way.
Q4: How is the health of the Floridan Aquifer?
There has been tremendous improvement in the health of the Aquifer.
The depth in the Savannah Cone of Depression in the Floridan Aquifer groundwater level has risen approximately 40 feet in the Savannah region over the last 20 years due to implementation of withdrawal reductions in the regions that utilize it. Please see November 2023 Georgia EPD Updates – Floridan Aquifer groundwater resource update. According to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (Georgia EPD), there is not an issue of saltwater encroachment in Bryan and Bulloch counties. However, there is a detectable simulated impact on water level around the Hilton Head Island area, where saltwater encroachment is an issue. For this reason, EPD contemplates imposition of long-term conditions in these water withdrawal permits to replace Floridan Aquifer water use with surface water or other alternative sources. Please see February 2024 Georgia EPD- Floridan Aquifer groundwater resource information.
Q5: How will HMGMA’s water needs be filled?
There are viable short-term, interim and long-term plans for the future water needs of HMGMA. In the short-term, during construction and start-up, HMGMA will utilize Bryan County Yellow Zone wells and existing permitted capacity. In the interim, four new wells are proposed in Bulloch County that will supply drinking water to customers in the region, including HMGMA.
In the long-term, surface water and potentially other viable alternative water sources will be utilized to provide drinking water to HMGMA and the region. The surface water will be drawn from the Savannah River, but it will take time to develop the necessary treatment and water transportation infrastructure. The current plan approved by the Georgia EPD for this surface water infrastructure calls for this to be completed within 25 years. However, it could be accomplished sooner with funding and the support of local and state partners.
This water supply infrastructure will not only serve HMGMA, but will also benefit the community as a whole, providing better access to utilities for a growing area. By continuing to explore sustainable water supply solutions and coordinating with the Georgia EPD, water will be available for future growth, while protecting and preserving the Ogeechee watershed.
Q6: If HMGMA is located in Bryan County, why will the supply wells be drilled in Bulloch County?
As part of the Coastal Sound Science Initiative, the Georgia EPD designated the Red, Yellow and Green Zones based on proximity to the Floridan Aquifer’s cone of depression near Savannah and how groundwater pumping in those areas impacted saltwater intrusion in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Groundwater withdrawals in Bulloch County, which is in the Green Zone, will have a smaller but potentially detectable impact on saltwater encroachment in the Hilton Head Island area. Bryan and Bulloch counties partnered to develop a multi-phased plan to meet the drinking water needs of the growing area, including the development of the Bryan County Megasite. The first part of this plan is to acquire permits for the four proposed wells in Bulloch County through the Georgia EPD, which regulates the State’s groundwater resources, and then work with other regional partners to develop other water sources such as surface water.
Q7: How will HMGMA affect farmers and private residential wells utilizing the Floridan Aquifer?
The impact will be limited, and only affect a fairly small area. The Georgia EPD has modeled the impacts to Floridan aquifer wells in the area and determined that the local static water level in the Floridan Aquifer will likely have a maximum decrease of 19-feet near the intersection of I-16 and State Route 119. The water level gradient will return to normal levels over a relatively short distance. As an added safeguard, Georgia EPD has established special permit conditions requiring Bryan and Bulloch counties to establish a mitigation fund to address impacts to existing Floridan Aquifer wells.
Q8: Who is eligible to access the fund?
The well mitigation fund will be available to owners of existing Floridan Aquifer wells within a five-mile radius of the I-16 and State Route 119 interchange. Applicants will provide appropriate documentation and recommendations from a Georgia-licensed well driller or pump installer demonstrating the significant impact to the well(s) in question.
Q9: What about the USACE wetland permit?
The USACE received accurate information in response to all questions asked related to the 404 permit. The Savannah JDA has been working with local governments and the state on how to best serve the megasite with potable water. The Georgia EPD is responsible for permitting drinking water and groundwater usage, not the USACE. The Georgia EPD has already provided groundwater withdrawal conditions from Bulloch County to proceed to a draft permit phase. This phase will include a 30-day public comment period that will start in the near future.
The water requirements for this project have been publicly available on the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s dedicated page for this project since July 22, 2022.
This is possibly the most heavily studied megasite in the country.
Q10: Why was the exact amount of water that the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant project is going to utilize not made public?
During the site selection process, all utility specifications are considered confidential information and integral to a manufacturing facility’s operations. We do not publicize confidential information on behalf of our project partners. Once a project decision has been finalized, utility information becomes available. However, the water requirements for this project have been publicly available on the GDEcD’s dedicated page for this project since July 22, 2022.
Q11: If a member of the public has a concern, how do we contact you?
Please email questions or concerns to info@truthaboutwater.org.