The Hyundai Motor Group Meta Plant America posed threats to Bulloch County citizens and their water use during its opening in March of 2025, and those threats continue to concern those citizens.
The Hyundai Plant draws their water from the Floridan Aquifer, which is also a primary water source for many farms in Bulloch County.
Bulloch County and Bryan County had an intergovernmental agreement about water and sewer services that would provide for the Hyundai Plant.
According to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) the plant is permitted to use around 6.6 million gallons of water daily. The water that they use is pulled from four wells, which pull water from the Floridan Aquifer.
The four wells are located in Southeast Bulloch County. Many farms in Bulloch County who also pull water from the Floridan Aquifer, had strong oppositions to the agreement between Bryant and Bulloch County.
One of the farms in Bulloch County that disapproved of the agreement was Franklin’s Citrus Farm. Franklin’s Citrus Farm is located in Statesboro, GA that specializes in growing different types of citruses.
In 2024 when EPD allowed the Hyundai Plant on average 6 million gallons of water daily, farmers in Statesboro had concerns.
Shaylee Renz works at Franklin’s Citrus Farm and is the daughter of farmer Bill Renz.
“The percentage they were taking per year of our overall water was very, very extreme, which can cause our soil to dry out,” Shaylee Renz said.
A petition was started in 2024 to fight for the water rights of Bulloch County, which included Franklin’s Farm. The group fighting against the Hyundai Plant’s water use was called the Bullloch Action Coalition.
Its purposes were to repeal the Intergovernmental Agreement to provide water and sewer services to Bryan County and to repeal the passage of the well mitigation program between Bryan and Bulloch County.
The Hyundai Plant has been in operation since March of 2025. For Franklin’s Farm, which specializes in citrus, they haven’t seen a direct impact yet.
Renz expects the plant’s water use to have more of a long-term impact.
“Since what we grow is citrus, it wouldn’t make an impact this soon, but I expect it to come,” Renz said.
Another group that is against the Hyundai Plant’s water services is the Ogeechee Riverkeeper.
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality of the Ogeechee River Basin.
According to the Ogeechee Riverkeep, manufacturing at the Hyundai Plant will produce wastewater that could contaminate and destroy the Ogeechee River's ecosystem.
In May of 2025, the Hyundai Plant was fined for improperly disposing of its wastewater and for having concerning levels of zinc and copper.
Senior biology student Nayli Rentas explained that humans naturally have zinc and copper in their bodies.
“It can’t be harmful unless it’s in excessive amounts,” Rentas said. “It can hurt your GI tract if it reacts with your stomach acid.”
After a year of production at the Hyundai Plant, manufacturing is still underway. For concerned citizens in Bulloch County, the impacts are yet to come, but are still to be awaited.
“It’s very worrisome, but it’s kind of at the point there’s nothing we can do about it,” Renz said.