Gotion's plan to clear 120 acres of trees spurs renewed request for EPA oversight

As Gotion Inc. moves forward with plans to clear about 120 acres of trees to make way for its Mecosta County battery parts plant, residents are questioning why federal regulators have yet to involve themselves in the company’s permitting process for the property.

The concerns, raised by an area resident in a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month, come 15 months after Gotion and the state of Michigan announced plans for a $2.4 billion tax-incentivized battery parts plant in Green Township, near Big Rapids.

“This environmental situation is about to come to a head,” Big Rapids resident Marjorie Steele wrote to the EPA Jan. 16, referring to Gotion’s imminent tree-cutting plans. “We as representatives of the local community ask once more, urgently, that EPA Region 5’s offices take action on the federal oversight required of this development, before violations occur.”

Steele sent the letter on behalf of a watchdog group, the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan, that is keeping tabs on megasite developments in Big Rapids and Marshall. She warned the EPA Region 5 administrator that community concerns over the lack of involvement by state and federal environmental regulators was reaching a “boiling point.”

The federal agency, for its part, seems unperturbed.

The EPA told The Detroit News it was reviewing the letter and would coordinate with the state if or when Gotion submitted permit applications that fell under clean water and natural resources laws.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said officials have spoken with Gotion leaders in pre-application meetings, but the company has yet to submit any applications that would trigger more in-depth engagement on the project.

“Site clearing does not require a permit as long as it is in compliance with all relevant environmental laws,” said Hugh McDiarmid Jr., a spokesman for the state environmental agency. “EGLE will continue to monitor activity at the site to ensure any regulated activities receive proper review.”

Tree cutting on private property is not regulated by state law, but county or state permits are required for the eventual removal of stumps, site grading or later road construction, McDiarmid said.

In a statement last week, Chuck Thelen, vice president of Gotion's North American manufacturing division, said the company plans to “selectively cut some trees on its property in the coming weeks.”

“Gotion Inc. continues to follow all rules and regulations regarding its planned battery components facility in Green Charter Township to ensure the environment is protected," Thelen said.

Gotion, Inc. announced plans in October 2022 for a $2.4 billion battery parts plant in Green Township, just outside of Big Rapids, with plans to create an estimated 2,350 jobs. The company is set to receive $175 million in state tax incentives and a 30-year tax abatement as part of its deal to locate in Mecosta County.

Since the announcement of the project, the planned development has been beset by community and political pushback as individuals raised concerns about the secrecy of the deal, the unknown environmental impact in a largely agricultural area and the influence of China on the project.

The company was founded in China in 2006, but its U.S. subsidiary has been incorporated in California since 2014. Its board is one-third German, one-third American and one-third Chinese.

Last year, the entire 7-member Green Township board was either recalled or resigned due to community concerns over the project.

Thelen told a local radio program last week that he expects to begin tree removal in the coming weeks. Thelen later clarified about 120 acres of trees are expected to be removed after conversations with the group’s environmental consultant and the state regulatory agency.

“After five months of conversation, we have a good solid understanding of what the expectations are,” Thelen told the Band of Locals radio program.

Thelen added that the group expected to submit its final design and environmental study in March to local, state and federal regulators in Michigan, which will trigger an about six-month review and permit consideration process. He hopes to break ground on the project in late summer or early fall.

Steele argued in her letter to the EPA that Gotion will eventually need to seek federal approvals under three different sections of the federal Clean Water Act governing pollutant discharge, airborne contaminants and wetlands and streams. A September 2023 analysis prepared by Barr Engineering found Gotion’s property north of 18 Mile included nearly 60 acres of wetlands that would fall under the state’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.

In July, the company bought about 270 acres of land east of U.S. 131 and north of 18 Mile for its plant.

Steele argued the project should qualify as a “Red File” project, a designation for a project with the potential to impact critical environmental area or to involve major discharges. A Red File project loops in not only the EPA, but also the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, resulting in a longer permitting process.

“It’s clear that federal oversight is both needed and legally required,” Steele wrote. “What is at stake, here, is nothing short of the health of the entire Muskegon River watershed, the Saginaw aquifer, and the ecosystems and residents which depend on them.”

McDiarmid said the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy cannot determine if the project merits a “Red File” review until it sees actual permit applications or site plans.

The state environmental agency has been avoiding premature involvement in the project, informing Republican lawmakers who were pressuring action last May that it had not yet received permit applications that would merit the agency’s involvement.

“It is fully possible that multiple approvals will be required before construction or operations activities begin; however, until we receive an application, we cannot presuppose the types of permits that will be needed or their potential impacts,” former EGLE Acting Director Aaron Keatley wrote in May.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com