MADISON, Ga. — Those opposing an electric vehicle maker’s plans for a massive production and research facility Tuesday, Feb. 22, continued the efforts they began at a previous Joint Development Authority (JDA) meeting to convince area officials to kill the project.
Area residents — mostly from Morgan County — vented their anger about plans for the plant Tuesday during the JDA’s monthly meeting in Madison.
The JDA of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton Counties has been the developer of the 2,000-acre site which fronts I-20 and straddles the line between Walton and Morgan counties.
Early plans called for 16 million square feet of production and research buildings for Rivian vehicles.
About 20 speakers told JDA members during a public comment section of the meeting Tuesday about their concerns about threats to their groundwater supplies and rural ways of life.
Cathy Ward of Walton County said she wanted the developers to wait for all environmental studies to be completed before beginning site work.
She referenced Flint, Michigan, and its five-year effort to remove lead and other contaminants from its drinking water supply.
"We have a precious gem," she said. "Let us not become a Flint, Michigan."
Edwin Snell of Oconee County emphasized his disgust with the plan by demonstrating what his former football coach would do to show the importance of what he was saying — throwing his hat on the ground and stomping on it before raising his voice.
Snell said the plan would threaten to pollute the drinking water sources of residents in the mostly rural Rutledge area — among other concerns with the way the JDA had treated residents.
“You’re like the Wizard of Oz, and we’re going to rip the curtain off,” he said.
The Authority and officials from the four counties earlier this week asked the state to take the lead on bringing Rivian to the area and claim title to the site.
The move will erase the need for local governments to conduct public hearings on zoning and other controversial measures.
Company officials said Rivian is committed to partnerships with conservation groups and its plant being environmentally friendly.
They said the company selected the site because of its proximity to a variety of transportation options and quality of education in the area, among other factors.
Don Stack is an attorney for the anti-Rivian group Our Communities Oppose Rivian Assembly Plan, which has organized against the plant.
He said the move to allow the state government to take the lead on the project was “the easiest way to avoid responsibility” for any site problems.
