No2Rivian Association Releases an Open Letter Inviting RJ Scaringe to Talk

According to the document, the first intermediaries are the ones who should have represented the inhabitants of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties. Some of these folks are part of the JDA (Joint Development Authority). The association thinks they should have prepared the community for the Georgia governor and Rivian's plans for the area. No2Rivian says these representatives didn't do their jobs. The association is particularly irritated with Alan Verner. JoEllen Artz, the president of the No2Rivian organization, told autoevolution who he is.

"Alan Verner was president of the Joint Development Authority for over 20 years, and half of the land that the state bought is his family farm. This is considered a conflict of interest to make money because of the position you hold, but the violation is being ignored by the state."

The second middlemen are the lawyers who are not dealing with the lawsuits the community filed against the Georgia government and Rivian. Artz also told me more about them.

"There are three lawsuits tying everything up. The first says that Rivian is not a financially-safe business to be allowed to get a $15-billion bond to build the facility, and the state cannot legally allow Rivian to not pay $700 million in property tax for 25 years. The other two suits are identical, one to our county for failure to enforce a rezoning hearing (from agriculture to heavy industrial), and the other is against the state for saying that they don't have to request a rezoning hearing."

The association accuses the government of illegally rezoning the agricultural area where Rivian plans to build its factory for industrial purposes. The way the open letter puts it, there are only two possibilities for the role the BEV maker has in the whole story. Either it was used as a pawn in a broader strategy, or it is an active part of that plan. A chat with RJ Scaringe would help the community understand which role Rivian indeed plays in this plot.

The open letter compares the destruction the new factory may cause to what General Sherman and his troops did to Rutledge in their March to the Sea during the Civil War. According to Artz, this destruction is being promoted solely by Georgia state so far.

"There is no construction, just 'land disturbance.' The state is paying for the land disturbance, but Rivian has to pay for the construction."

In other words, it may get worse when Rivian starts the construction job. Artz hopes that Scaringe is able to talk to them before that happens.

"We would talk with Scaringe about our concerns, starting with our drinking water. We would talk of very serious concerns about lithium and our water and then also about how serious lithium battery fires are. There is a year-round campground for disabled children a mile from the site, and there could be hundreds of children there when a fire breaks out. It would be very difficult to evacuate them."

Artz also hopes the Rivian CEO can consider locating the factory in other areas of the state.

"We would talk about how there are areas in Georgia that have had factories close, so the people need jobs. Our community does not need jobs. There was an excellent location in Georgia for a factory, but not too long ago, Hyundai took it. There are also other areas, but the governor wanted him to choose this land so that his good friend, Alan Verner, could sell his land."

Another strategy is to suggest Rivian may have better things to worry about than a new factory.

"We would also encourage him to forget about Georgia and concentrate on his factory in Illinois. It is supposed to be capable of producing 200,000 vehicles a year, but only produces about 20,000. He needs to figure out how to make that factory work well before expanding."

The open letter may encourage Scaringe to chat. It makes it clear that the significant disappointment the residents have is with the government, JDA, and the county administration. They are the ones these folks blame the most for what is happening there. They also challenged Scaringe to prove he cares for the environment and communities, something he often says when anyone brings up the problems with the area's residents.

The document says they have no reasons to doubt he is telling the truth apart from the fact that he "chose a very environmentally crucial and sensitive area to destroy." One way to make things clear would be to give them a chance to express their concerns face-to-face.

I have contacted Rivian about the open letter and will update this article when and if the BEV maker answers. Even if I don't hear from the BEV maker, the No2Rivian association would be happy to confirm if the open letter reached Scaringe. It may be more productive to sit with them and discuss than to wait for the courts to decide who's right. The association shows no signs it may eventually give up fighting to revert the factory location. In its own words, the "white flag" the open letter represents "is not a peace offering, concession or surrender." The idea is to "simply lower the temperature for a moment so perhaps we can just hear each other out." That sounds quite reasonable, doesn't it?