This proposed site consisting of 2000 acres straddling the Morgan & Walton county limits for electric car manufacturer - Rivian - has naturally received much attention in & around the four counties of Jasper, Newton, Morgan & Walton.
A Facebook group, now numbering approx 2,700 members, has been the leading force of opposition of this project in addition to its corresponding grassroots group which has raised funds while printing up yard signs & literature as well as creating a wide & vast coalition & consensus of the local Citizenry.
I’ve joined this FB group & have talked to a several of its members.
These are good people w/ serious & reasonable concerns and complaints & I’m in full agreement w/ these fine folks.
The big thing, for me, is the environmental aspect. I’ve been referred to in the past as a “bleeding heart, tree hugging libertarian,” & it’s true — I’m really, really big on the environment, especially water. And not just rivers, streams & lakes, but also the all-too-important water below the land — the water table & aquifers.
Also, regarding water, I have another big concern:
Runoff.
An oft overlooked but extremely vital consideration.
It’s got to go somewhere.
When you look at the impervious space for this thing? Well…it just gives me major pause, y’all.
And that’s w/out even getting into the myriad of other things such as traffic, infrastructure capacity, adverse effects on quality of life, etc.
The pause button on this thing DEFINITELY needs to be pushed, and it’s looking like that’s exactly what happening at this time & that’s a good thing.
I’ll be writing multiple pieces on this situation moving forward.
— Vigilance is the Watchword —
- MBM