What others don’t understand is Our Communities are thriving and happy. We don’t need a 16-million-square-foot behemoth or more employment opportunities.
JDA Chairman Jerry Silvio stated, “The payoffs are huge in terms of employment opportunities, education, quality of life...”
Georgia’s 2.6% unemployment rate has businesses scrambling for staff. There are thousands of unfilled high paying positions throughout the region, including industrial and engineering positions. A new training center and related coursework paid via Georgia Taxpayers, not Rivian, sounds great, except these courses do not align with that of the regional workforce. UGA is a Top 3 university in agriculture and our high school touts a robust agricultural program supporting a community that centers around farming. Investing in improvements to the current curriculum would better serve our communities.
Heavy industry and quality of life are not compatible. Rivian and Morgan’s Comprehensive Plan is like water and oil. The NEGRC recently released a report that warns of “hazardous waste such as paints, solvents, adhesives, batteries…that are typical of such manufacturing facilities” and “requirements may not be sufficient to protect residents and local environmental resources.”
Such anxieties don’t improve quality of life. This project threatens significant groundwater recharge areas and negatively impacts those that rely on wells with no access to municipal water. This proposal will shift municipal planning and take decades to implement infrastructure to keep residents safe.
This whole process lacks transparency by failing to inform the community of the overarching plan.
There was no solicitation of input from the general public and the property was marketed on a state level.
Vehement opposition grows as more learn of the catastrophic impacts.
Site selection occurred without proper vetting and most agreed developments of this magnitude should be on a referendum for a vote. Choosing an existing industrial site like: Rivian in Normal, Porsche in Hapeville, Tesla in Austin and GM recycling Saturn plants is more suitable. The “Brownsfield” Act in 1996 outlined reuse of abandoned industrial sites. Rivian could CHOOSE to take a Brownfield and make it “Green.” It can help clean up prior contamination, thus avoiding contamination in other regions not impacted by heavy industry. The negative impacts here would be irreversible by an untested company in a competitive sector. “We are not the kind of company that just comes in and invades your space” - Zach Deitmeier, Rivian rep., and yet, that is exactly what they are doing.
Alternatives exist!
Chas Moore is an entrepreneur that has worked in the automotive repair industry for 25 years, marketing and advertising for 10 years, and is a proud citizen of “small, but special” Rutledge.
