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The groundbreaking for Micron Technology’s semiconductor manufacturing facility in Clay was delayed due to environmental review drawbacks, syracuse.com reported Wednesday morning. Construction is now set to begin in November 2025.

Bob Petrovich, executive director of the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, said during a Wednesday morning budget meeting for the Onondaga County Legislature that Micron pushed back its construction plans pending additional environmental review. The company hopes to complete a draft environmental impact statement by mid-December, he said.

“That’s obviously a very big time meter for us. We are working every day, all day long on that (Micron) project,” Petrovich said during Wednesday’s meeting. “It is an all-hands-on-deck operation.”

Earlier this week, syracuse.com reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued formal letters criticizing Micron for its lack of information on how the company plans to mitigate the environmental impact of its construction. Both said that Micron’s plans do not abide by federal law and may have significant negative impacts on aquatic resources, including the 244 acres of wetlands on which the plan is set to be built.

The key reason for Wednesday’s announcement is a reported delay in the creation of an environmental impact report, required by state and federal law. The report is expected to take several months longer than Micron originally planned, a spokesperson for Onondaga County said.

The review process requires Micron to submit an extensive report detailing its expected environmental footprint, ranging from impacts on air pollution to the relocation of endangered bats living in the woods of White Pine Commerce Park.

The company cannot cut down trees with a 4-inch diameter or greater because bats may be living there from April 1 to Oct. 31. In November, the bats will hibernate elsewhere and construction can start, according to syracuse.com.

Micron first announced its plans to build the largest semiconductor fabrication plant in the United States in Clay, located 10 minutes from the city of Syracuse, in Oct. 2022. The company has planned to invest over $100 billion into the project over the next 20 years.

The plant is expected to create over 40,000 jobs in the surrounding community. Within its first year, it expects to employ about 1,300 people at an average salary of $98,000, Micron wrote in filings with Onondaga County. In April 2024, Micron received a $6.1 billion federal grant under the CHIPS and Science Act, an act created to encourage companies like Micron to invest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

Four months after its initial announcement, Manish Bhatia, Micron’s executive vice president of global operations, said the company would begin construction in June 2024. Micron later moved the project’s start to spring 2025.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the third pushback to the Micron project timeline.

Micron intends to submit its environmental report to the development agency around Dec. 15, Petrovich said. Pending OCIDA approval, the study will then be released to the public with a 45-day comment period. Further review will be conducted by the CHIPS office and OCIDA after public comment.

Since Micron’s environmental report is not expected until this upcoming December, the company will have to wait until Nov. 2025 to commence the tree removal process.

After the larger review is done, Micron will still need several environmental permits and approvals, including a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This permit would allow the company to build on top of wetlands and streams. USACE said it would wait to assess the permit until the review process has concluded, according to syracuse.com.

Published on September 18, 2024 at 11:45 pm

Contact Kate: kjacks19@syr.edu