Georgia environmental regulators have fined the hulking Hyundai electric vehicle factory near Savannah $30,000 for violating state wastewater disposal rules.

The $7.6 billion facility, known as the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, opened in October and is the largest economic development project in Georgia history. The plant manufactures two of Hyundai’s EV models, the IONIQ 5 and the IONIQ 9.

The fine levied by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division concerns the Metaplant’s handling of its industrial wastewater. In a statement, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America spokesperson Bianca Johnson said the facility “has worked diligently with the EPD on all aspects of our wastewater management issues and improvements.”

“HMGMA (Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America) has upgraded its wastewater treatment equipment and continues to work with the EPD to ensure compliance,” Johnson added.

Inside the Metaplant, metal finishing and other manufacturing processes produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater each month, according to contracts shared with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hyundai’s long-term plan for managing its wastewater is to pump it for treatment at a new water reclamation facility in Bryan County, where the factory is. But that plant is still under construction and won’t be operational until later this year.

In the meantime, Savannah had permitted Hyundai to release wastewater into the city’s sewer system for treatment at the Travis Field Water Reclamation Facility near Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.

That arrangement didn’t last long.

In September, less than a month after Hyundai began sending effluent to Savannah, the company says it notified the city that its wastewater “exceeded their limits” and immediately halted its discharges.

On Oct. 1, the city of Savannah sent a notice of violation to Hyundai showing that high levels of copper and zinc were detected in wastewater it received from Hyundai. The metal concentrations, Savannah water officials said, were disrupting the chemical treatments and bacteria Savannah uses to ensure wastewater is safe before releasing it into the environment.

With the Savannah option off the table, Hyundai turned to another stopgap solution: Last fall, the Metaplant began storing wastewater on site and using outside companies to haul it to facilities in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, according to an EPD consent order.

The problem, EPD says, is that Georgia’s water quality rules require factories like Hyundai’s to obtain a separate permit before transferring wastewater to other facilities. Once the Metaplant was no longer a construction site, Hyundai’s storage of wastewater in sewage tanks on site also violated state law, EPD said.

The Metaplant’s wastewater treatment issues were first reported by The Current.

On top of the fine, EPD ordered Hyundai to submit a corrective action plan. Johnson, the Hyundai Metaplant spokesperson, said the company submitted the plan to EPD last week and is working with the agency on a final version.

Trip Tollison, the CEO and president of the Savannah Economic Development Authority — which helped recruit the Metaplant to the Savannah area — said he was encouraged by Hyundai’s work toward a permanent wastewater solution.

“HMGMA is creating jobs and opportunities for thousands of Georgians, and we are confident they will continue to make positive contributions to the local economy while upholding their environmental responsibilities,” Tollison said.

The dustup is the latest stir the massive plant has caused in southeast Georgia, where water supplies are tight and closely managed.

Hyundai’s plan to pump millions of gallons of groundwater a day from a neighboring county for EV manufacturing has drawn pushback from farmers living near the wells who worry the factory’s thirst could leave their own wells dry. Last fall, EPD approved permits for the wells in nearby Bulloch County.

The nonprofit Ogeechee Riverkeeper, which has challenged local decisions concerning the Metaplant’s environmental impact, said it was pleased with EPD’s fine and expects “it will serve as a deterrent to industrial wastewater producers against any future violations.”

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