Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) and two contractors face a federal lawsuit brought by a Georgia resident alleging muddy runoff from the construction site of Rivian’s future factory clogged streams and ponds downstream, in violation of federal environmental laws violates.
The filing presents another potential legal hurdle for the EV startup, which has faced stiff opposition from some local residents since announcing plans to build a factory a year and a half ago.
The complaint was filed last week in the Middle District of Georgia by Morgan County’s Julie Jenkins, who oversees a family trust that sold part of her land to the state for the Rivian project. She and her family also own other properties near the 2,000-acre site of the future factory.
“I have no problem with electric vehicles or economic development in appropriate places if done well,” Jenkins said in a statement. “However, Rivian and the contractors working on this project have disregarded the environment of our rural area, including our fields, forests and streams.”
Alongside Rivian, engineering firms Thomas & Hutton and Plateau Excavation Inc. have bid to clear and level land for the company’s $5 billion EV plant.
The troubles reportedly began last October, shortly after Plateau began clearing a 737-acre portion of the site. A rainstorm caused mud from the site to flow into the Rawlings Branch, a creek that connects to the Oconee River. Further downstream, Rawlings flows onto the Jenkins’ property, and as a result, the lawsuit alleges that the family’s land left a muddy mess.
Plateau itself reported a debris spill from that October storm, and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) later issued a violation notice against the company for beginning sorting before adequate sediment controls were conducted, but no fine was imposed.
The lawsuit states that heavy rainfall events continue to send more mud into the Rawlings Branch and onto the Jenkins property. And since Rawlings Branch is a multi-year stream that qualifies as “United States waters,” the complaint alleges the drain pollution is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
Shares of RIVN are up 0.90% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
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