NEWTON COUNTY – Officials from Jasper, Newton, Morgan and Walton counties met on July 23 at the Joint Development Authority (JDA) meeting to discuss a number of items. 

Among the update’s from Tuesday’s meeting was a progress report from the electric vehicle (EV) company Rivian.

JDA member and Morgan County representative Bob Hughes said that Rivian is beginning to implement the agreed-upon site maintenance and security plan while making improvements to the site.

Here are some of the security measure and site maintenance/improvements that Rivian has agreed to implement:

Security measures:

• The installation of fencing, gates, and jersey barriers at vulnerable site entry points.
• Affirmation on the reliance of natural barriers (hills, woods, etc.) for the rest of the site.
• The installation of interior fencing around ponds (once completed).
• The posting of “no trespassing” signage.
• Additional limited patrol on nights and weekends.

Site Maintenance/Improvements:

• A proposal to cut grass; currently in negotiations with a local farmer to bale hay (pads will likely not be cut right away to allow for continued stabilization through grass growing).
• The ongoing seeding and stabilization of the upper pad.
• Permanent structures in Ponds 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9.
• Moving AT&T Fiber Line to site perimeter
• Walton EMC providing power to the site
• The instillation of transformers being expected “soon”
• Talks to bring water and sewer to the site
• Other outfall structures and pond improvements are “ongoing”.
• An email address created for issues, comments, and/or questions to be made: StantonSpringsNorth@rivian.com

Hughes provided his feedback on what he found to be substantial from these updates.

“My big takeaway from this was that we rode all around the site. It’s about a 700-acre pad, upper and lower pads, and 1,300 acres of buffer,” Hughes said. “And really from just about any place around the perimeter, you’re not gonna see anything but the top end of a building.”

Rivian announced in March that they would be suspending construction at the Stanton Springs plant indefinitely while focusing on their plant in Normal, Illinois. The EV company has said on multiple occasions that they plan to fulfill the obligations of both the State and the JDA during this process.