Hyundai to Pay Wastewater Fine

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Good morning! We have a follow-up today on a story from March about Hyundai’s wastewater woes. We turn next to Trump administration climate-related cuts, first examining how slashing federal grants affects Georgia researchers and then how the proposed phasing out of EV tax credits could tamp down the EV market.

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Hyundai avoids $7M wastewater fine

Georgia regulators have fined Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America $30,000 for improper disposal of wastewater from its Bryan County electric vehicle manufacturing site. The settlement reached between the company and the Environmental Protection Division allowed Hyundai to avoid what could have been a greater than $7 million fine based on the number of days the alleged violations continued, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports. The Current first reported Hyundai’s wastewater woes in March.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Scientists raise alarm on cuts

Georgia climate scientists are raising concerns about federal cuts they say could hamper research and reduce our understanding of climate change, as WABE/Grist’s Emily Jones reports. University of Georgia agricultural climatologist Pam Knox, who has worked on the National Climate Assessment, said that threats to the next update could leave farmers more vulnerable. Clark Alexander, director of the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, said the proposed cuts to the National Science Foundation would harm the research done at institutions like his and Georgia Tech, warning that the threat isn’t just to science. Farmers, weather forecasters and emergency planners all rely on climate and weather information.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

EV tax credit on chopping block

Tax credits that bolstered electric vehicle sales for years are threatened by legislation proposed by Congressional House Republicans Monday, The Hill reports. 

The proposed legislation called for terminating a $7,500 credit on new vehicles by the end of next year and also eliminate a$4,000 tax credit for used EVs by the end of this year. Starting in January, the credit for new EVs would only apply to vehicles from companies that have sold fewer than 200,000 battery-powered models.

More than 4,000 electric vehicles are registered in Georgia’s six coastal counties, data from the Department of Revenue indicates. That number has increased by more than 4% in the last two months. Coastal Georgia’s stake in the fate of electric vehicles extends to manufacturing, as well, with the new $7.6 billion Bryan County Hyundai plant producing some 200 EVs a day as of March. Buyers depend on the current tax credits to make these vehicles more affordable.

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Also noted

• After a three-year hiatus, Georgia will this year resume elections for the Public Service Commission, the body that regulates how much Georgia Power customers pay for electricity. Unregistered voters must register to vote by May 19 to be eligible to vote in the primary election. Early voting for that primary is May 27 – June 13. Election day for the primary is June 17.

• Georgia has become the second state to shield pesticide manufacturers from some lawsuits that claim they failed to warn customers of potential dangers. Legislation signed Friday by Gov. Brian Kemp is designed to protect Bayer Corp. from lawsuits claiming that it failed to tell customers that its popular weed killer Roundup could cause cancer, as WSB-TV Atlanta reports.

• Coastal Wildscapes offers a lecture and book signing by Georgann Eubanks, author of “The Fabulous Ordinary: Discovering the Natural Wonders of the Wild South,” at 3 p.m. May 18, 2025 at The Ashantilly Center, 15591 Highway 99, Darien. Find more information and registration here.

• Americans are rapidly adopting electric lawn equipment, including mowers and leaf blowers. These appliances are not only much quieter than their gas-powered counterparts, but they also cut down on climate-warming emissions, as Reasons to be Cheerful reports.

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