$100B Micron project moves forward after final environmental report approved
New York state Sen. Christopher Ryan announced the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency accepted Micron’s final Environmental Impact Statement Friday. The $100 billion project is a step closer to breaking ground this year. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency accepted Micron Technology’s Final Environmental Impact Statement for its new $100 billion facility in Clay, New York State Sen. Christopher Ryan announced Friday.
By passing the FEIS, construction on the project’s first semiconductor fabrication plant is one step closer to beginning before the end of this year. The Drafted EIS, released in June, included a report on the facility’s water, air and native species regional impact.
Proposed improvements, such as a new exit on I-81, a site for trucks to redirect traffic and a plan to restore local wetlands were also included in the report.
“I have emphasized that any development of this magnitude must deliver for the people of our region,” Ryan said in a Friday statement. “The thorough review process represented by the FEIS confirms that we are proceeding with full transparency, accountability and respect for our environment and our community.”
Originally scheduled to open in 2028, Micron announced Friday that the project would be delayed by two to three years. The first plant will not be completed until late 2030, according to Micron.
The new facility was announced in 2022 and is expected to house four fabrication plants, creating 50,000 jobs, 9,000 of which are high-paying, according to a 2022 Micron release.
Groups like SUNY ESF’s Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and the Sierra Club released public responses to the initial June report. Both expressed concerns about the plant’s energy consumption and its compliance with New York state’s renewable energy goals.
The FEIS doesn’t include substantial changes to the DEIS, IDA Executive Director Robert Petrovich told Spectrum News 1. Instead, the final EIS contains “refinements” based on concerns raised at three public hearings on July 24.
Petrovich also said the IDA needs to complete the final step to comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which requires adopting a finding statement. The statement will include a project summary and its environmental impacts, rationales for the agency’s decisions and state whether the project avoids or minimizes adverse environmental effects.
The IDA is scheduled to issue its finding statement on Nov. 17.
