SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia conservation group Monday filed notice of its intent to sue two U.S. government agencies, saying they failed to properly assess the environmental impacts of the $7.6 billion electric vehicle and battery plant Hyundai is building outside Savannah.
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper accuses the Army Corps of Engineers of issuing a permit to fill or dredge wetlands on the plant site using outdated data that failed to consider the project’s final scale. And it says the agency wrongly assumed the project would have a negligible impact on the region’s groundwater supply.
The environmental group also says the U.S. Treasury Department dispersed millions of dollars in infrastructure funding that benefitted the project without performing required environmental reviews.
“Any activities related to this project should be immediately halted until these crucial steps are properly completed,” said a letter addressed to the agencies’ leaders by Donald D.J. Stack, an attorney representing the conservation group.
Hyundai Motor Group broke ground in 2022 on its first U.S. factory devoted to building electric vehicles and the batteries that power them. The South Korean automaker has said it hopes to begin production before the end of this year in Bryan County west of Savannah.