The decision comes after the Army Corps initially deemed the plant's water usage impact as "negligible." The reassessment was prompted by a proposal from Georgia environmental authorities to provide four new wells to supply water to the Hyundai facility, revealing specific details about the plant's industrial water demands.
Hyundai's Metaplant America project, which broke ground in October 2022, aims to employ about 8,000 workers and produce 300,000 EVs annually, with potential expansion to 500,000 units. The plant was scheduled to begin operations in October this year, but the environmental review may potentially delay these plans.
"The concentration of that pumping in one area is going to have some impacts locally, such as on domestic and agricultural wells," said Ben Kirsch, an attorney for a local environmental group, in an interview with AP News.
While state regulators admitted water withdrawals by the Hyundai plant would lower water levels in the aquifer up to 5.8 meters, they added that most wells would not see much difference as they reach deeper into the ground.
The reassessment could impact Hyundai's ability to benefit from U.S. EV tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), while potentially affecting Georgia's economic growth expectations from this major investment.
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