According to a spokesman for the Joint Development Authority of Morgan, Newton, Jasper and Walton counties, all JDA-required preliminary due diligence has been completed for the Rivian EV plant to proceed.
Ben Sheidler said the JDA has approved the Economic Development Agreement (EDA) at its April meeting and on May 2, 2022, the State and Rivian signed the agreement. The EDA lays out the incentives and responsibilities of each party.
Sheidler said that after finalizing the EDA, the JDA and State filed a joint 404 Permit application, which is being processed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now.
Land acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of June, which could mean that Rivian is on track to break ground in late summer.
Sheidler said grading work will be bid out in the coming months and notices will be posted on the JDA website and the Georgia Procurement Registry.
The GDOT is also moving ahead with its plans for roadway improvements and should be hosting meetings seeking public input soon.
Shiedler also said utility providers continue to develop plans to preparing to meet the Rivan’s needs.
These developments have not been welcomed by the opposition groups who have been slamming the Rivian proposal on social media for the past several months.
One opposition group began raising funds to hire legal counsel to stop the plant back in February but so far Rivian’s plan to build the plant in western Morgan County and eastern Walton County has proceeded with few hiccups, except for perhaps the Morgan County Board of Tax Assessors original refusal to approve Rivian’s PILOT agreement, which was approved May 25.
Some members of the opposition groups are now questioning the wisdom of paying a law firm a substantial sum with limited results.
JDA chairman Jerry Silvio, also talked about the news that Hyundai is also bringing and EV plant to Georgia at a site near Savannah.
“Late last week, the State of Georgia and Hyundai/Kia announced plans to build an electric vehicle manufacturing facility that will be located in Bryan County,” Silvio said. “I want to extend my congratulations to all those involved at the State and local JDA in successfully locating Hyundai/Kia’s EV facility to South Georgia. With Rivian in our region, and now Hyundai/Kia down south, we are fortunate to have both cutting-edge companies creating thousands of jobs and investing billions in our economy. We look forward to seeing both projects flourish and create generational opportunities for decades to come. Clearly, Georgia has arrived as a prime destination for the advanced manufacturing jobs of tomorrow and I am thankful for that.”