– June 26, 2024 –
Good morning! We start today with an EV update, move along to see where mercury contamination poses the biggest threat to dolphins and then learn more about a settlement between shrimpers and the operators of the capsized Golden Ray. Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
Editor’s note: This newsletter was corrected to indicate the Bulloch County Commission postponed the votes it had scheduled for a special called meeting June 25, 2024.
Coastal Ga. builds and buys EVs
Hyundai recently announced which of its EV models will be the first to roll off its assembly line in Bryan County, as GPB’s Benjamin Payne reports here. The Metaplant is expected to begin production by the end of the year. Its timing coincides with an upturn in EV affordability and sales, the New York Times reports. “Prices are falling because of increased competition, lower raw-material costs and more efficient manufacturing,” it notes. In Coastal Georgia, EV registrations have more than doubled in every county over the last two years. Chatham leads with 1,841 EVs, or 0.7% of registered vehicles in the county. Statewide, 0.8% of vehicles are electric, a number driven (sorry!) by the Atlanta area. Nearly 3% of Fulton’s vehicles are EVs.
Dolphins and mercury
New research adds to studies that have shown elevated levels of mercury in dolphins in the Southeast, the National Institute of Standards and Technology reports. While dolphins with the highest concentrations were in Florida’s St. Joseph and Choctawhatchee bays, dolphins in the Brunswick area had the highest levels of any of the five test areas from Charleston to Indian River Lagoon.
Mercury can build up in fish and dolphins eat some of the same fish people do, including spot, croaker, and weakfish. Sources of this neurotoxin include coal burning power plants and industrial processes. Mercury is among the primary contaminants at the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site in Brunswick.
Preliminary results from an ongoing study of chemical exposures to people in the Brunswick area found that the average mercury levels in the blood of the first 100 or so people tested was similar to the national average. Researchers from Emory University have applied for funding to expand that study’s scope and number of participants, Emory’s Melanie Pearson said at a recent environmental justice conference in Savannah.
Golden Ray suit settled
Forty-three shrimpers and tour operators have settled their case against the owners and operators of the Golden Ray, which capsized in St. Simons Sound on Sept. 8, 2019, while transporting 4,200 cars and trucks and more than 300,000 gallons of fuel. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood dismissed the case Monday after the parties reached an agreement out of court. The plaintiffs originally sought an injunction ordering the remediation of St. Simons Sound and surrounding areas, and monetary damages for loss of business. The plaintiffs settled individually, with settlement amounts governed by a confidentiality agreement, said attorney Roy J. Boyd Jr., who represented the plaintiffs. Cleanup was not part of the settlement, but some additional remediation steps were taken as part of the negotiations, said attorney Don Stack, who also represented the plaintiffs.
Also noted:
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal in a lawsuit challenging the way Georgia elects Public Service Commissioners. The PSC will continue to be elected statewide, with the next election postponed until May 2025, as Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports here.
- The Bulloch County Commission called a special meeting for Tuesday with 24 hours notice to the public to approve agreements with neighboring Bryan County over controversial wells to be drilled for the Hyundai Metaplant. But the hastily called meeting’s votes were postponed after advocates called for more public input, as Grice Connect reports here. The Ogeechee Riverkeeper posted on Facebook it was “concerned about the hasty decisions being made about water resources and encourages all residents in the area to attend.”
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Hyundai IONIQ 5 EV model will be first off Bryan County assembly line
Eventually the Metaplant will become Hyundai’s sole facility for manufacturing IONIQ 5 vehicles for sale in the U.S. market, but the company did not provide a timeline for when that may occur.
U.S. Supreme Court upholds statewide PSC elections in Ga.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lawsuit filed by four Black Fulton County residents who argued that electing members of the PSC statewide diluted Black voting strength in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Georgia shrimpers sue Golden Ray owners, salvagers over shipwreck’s pollution off St. Simons
About 40 commercial shrimpers seek an injunction ordering the remediation of St. Simons Sound and surrounding areas, and monetary damages for loss of business after the ship capsized on Sept. 8, 2019, while transporting 4,300 cars and trucks and more than 300,000 gallons of fuel.
Sapelo Island residents renew rezoning fight at historic community
A Georgia attorney for the last intact Gullah Geechee island community says new county zoning law is “discriminatory.”
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