Megasite – Ogeechee Riverkeeper

Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) received a letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) confirming that a “reevaluation of its permit decision regarding its effects determination for water supplies is warranted.” ORK made this assertion in its letter of intent (LOI) to sue. ORK filed the LOI with the assertion that USACE overlooked water supply concerns during the permitting process of the Hyundai Megasite in June of 2024.

The reevaluation decision requests that the applicants provide the USACE with an impact assessment of the Megasite’s water supply wells. Depending on the findings, the applicants may also be required to compensate for any resulting impacts. ORK will also continue to carefully monitor the Corps’ reevaluation process.

View Press Release || View Letter of Intent to Sue || Read Reevaluation Letter to JDA

|| Read USACE Letter to ORK

FAQ: What does this mean?

This is a small victory in a massive battle for water resources. Some may be frustrated that the Megasite project continues in spite of this decision, but a number of positive outcomes happen with this reevaluation.

Q: What does the Megasite have to provide to USACE? Are they allowed to keep building?

The Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (JDA) and the Georgia Dept. of Economic Development submitted the permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This reevaluation letter asks the applicants to submit “an assessment of effects the project may have on municipal and private water supplies” as well as whether “any drainage of aquatic resources” would occur. The results of this assessment will be taken into consideration by the USACE.
It puts the responsibility on the applicants – the JDA and GA DED – to show that this won’t have impacts on the Floridan Aquifer, those who rely on it, and the aquatic resources and environment.
USACE has the ability to reevaluate, adjust, or revoke a permit at any time, as “circumstances warrant.” As their letter states: Circumstances that could require reevaluation include, but are not limited to, (1) failure to comply with the terms and conditions of a permit; (2) information submitted in support of a permit application proves to have been false, incomplete, or inaccurate and/or (3) significant new information surfaces which this office did not consider in reaching the original public interest decision (33 CFR Part 325, Appendix A). USACE is currently reevaluating the permit.
During this time, the current permit is active and construction may continue at the Megasite.

Q: What does this mean? Will anything change?

Water supply and usage impacts will actually be considered. Because details regarding water usage were not included in the permit application, it was not part of USACE’s permit decision. Without Ogeechee Riverkeeper’s (ORK) efforts, those impacts and effects would never have been considered by USACE.
The decision from USACE confirms that the concerns raised in ORK’s letter of intent to sue were real and warranted. It also admits that the human and environmental impacts from supplying water to the Megasite were not considered in the initial permitting decision. They will have to consider these impacts in their reevaluation. Any unconsidered impacts to aquatic resources will have to be compensated for by the applicants.
It is difficult to predict if this will have any production timeline effects on the Megasite. It all depends on the findings of USACE’s reevaluation and if operations are able to / have to adjust to accommodate the decision.

Q: What will ORK do now?

A lawsuit remains possible, pending the conclusion reached by USACE in its reevaluation. Until the USACE completes its reevaluation, and ORK has a chance to review it, ORK doesn’t know what the next step will be.
USACE’s agreement to reevaluate was a discretionary action it took in response to ORK’s threat of legal action. In the interest of transparency, ORK will encourage the USACE to make the results of the reevaluation, and the supporting research provided by the applicants, available to the public.
ORK’s actions puts future applicants on notice that both ORK and the USACE will require them to fully consider all impacts and that they will be held accountable if they don’t.

The Megasite in Bryan County is known by many names but it is undoubtably the largest single construction project in the Ogeechee watershed. The site will be home to an automobile manufacturing facility owned and operated by Hyundai. Additionally, countless support businesses, warehouses, and housing developments are being built — all connected by water and sewer infrastructure and expanded trucking corridors. These pressures, and others, strain the Ogeechee Basin’s already delicate ecosystem.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper is doing all it can to conserve undisturbed natural resources, improve already-impacted waterways, and hold parties responsible for the parts they play in the negative changes.

OPINION: Ogeechee Riverkeeper responds to use of Florida aquifer for Hyundai – Savannah Morning News

Timeline

Permits and Comments

As part of Ogeechee Riverkeeper’s mission to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality in our basin, ORK will make official comments in response to proposals and permit applications. These comments are related to the impacts of the Megasite. View all comments.

USACE 404 Permit Decision Document – Hyundai Megasite

DRI 3709 Final Report

23.03.22 – Notice of No Significant Impact – Bryan County Board of Commissioners – GEFA Loan No. CW-2023-021 and ARPA Grant No. GA-0005950

23.04.21 – North Bryan WRF NONSI comment

23.08.15 – Warehouse zoning variance comments

23.09.29 – North Bryan WRF NPDES permit

23.09.29 – Pembroke WPCP NPDES permit

23.12.21 – SELC Comments on Savannah Container Terminal

24.02.13 – Hyundai Rail Spur wetlands fill permit

22.06.07 – SAS-2015-00235 Public Notice of Application

22.04.25 – State of GA letter of intent to Hyundai Motor

Related to water withdrawal requests

24.08.20 Groundwater Applications for Bryan County Megasite comment

Response to Comments on the Draft Special Conditions_20240708

Bulloch County – Draft Permits

Bryan County – Draft Permits

Notice of Public Meeting on Draft Groundwater Withdrawal Permits_20240708

Hoffstadter & Associates Prel Eng Report

Well 1 – Application Package

Well 2 – Application Package

Bulloch-Co.-Water-Supply-Wells-comment

ORK+ARK+OHM Hinesville-Long Co Groundwater Withdrawal Permit

Bryan-Bulloch Counties – DRAFT Special Conditions

Bulloch Wells Special Conditions comment

Georgia Comprehensive State Water Management Plan – 2008

Data

Ogeechee Riverkeeper is conducting long-term monitoring, upstream and downstream, of the Megasite. This monitoring includes baseline data and will ORK to know if any number of indicators fluctuates. Remote probes check dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, conductivity, and temperature every thirty minutes.

Note: Occasional breaks in data occur when probe requires maintenance.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) refers to the O² dissolved in water. The amount of DO is an important part of stream ecosystems, because it determines whether or what types of organisms can live in a given stream segment. Georgia standards for dissolved oxygen specify a daily average of 5.0 mg/L and an instantaneous minimum of 4.0 mg/L.

The pH of water is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions. A pH value of 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is alkaline. Georgia standards for pH specify pH in a range of 6 – 8.5 as acceptable.

Specific conductivity estimates the total mass of ions in water. Conductivity is proportional to the relative amount of electricity that can be conducted by water. The more dissolved ions present the higher the conductivity. Conductivity can be correlated to pollution loads. There are no state standards for specific conductance for the Ogeechee River.

Images

These images show the tremendous impact on the local landscape and the sheer scope of the project. Please contact ORK to request permission to use these images elsewhere.