Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Syracuse residents and labor groups filed a lawsuit against Micron Technology Friday, challenging the environmental review process for the company’s new Clay semiconductor plant.

The lawsuit, brought forth by resident coalition Neighbors for a Better Micron and advocacy group Jobs to Move America, was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany just hours before the project broke ground.

The petitioners are suing Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Town of Clay Planning Board and Micron, arguing the project’s final environmental impact statement fails to comply with the New York Environmental Quality Review Act.

Petitioners ask the court to require a “more thorough investigation” before construction proceeds.

In the lawsuit, the groups claim the environmental review was “unnecessarily rushed” and did not provide time for the public to judge the project’s impacts. The public was given just over a month to review the environmental impact statement, according to the petition.

Although the environmental impact statement found that there were numerous environmental impacts, the agency concluded those harms could be mitigated.

Micron’s semiconductor project, a $100 billion investment in Clay, would be one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing complexes in the country. The site will eventually host four fabrication plants producing microchips powering artificial intelligence technology. The first plant is expected to begin semiconductor production before the end of the decade.

Potential environmental damages listed in the lawsuit include permanent loss of 200 acres of wetlands, increased flooding risks, excessive greenhouse gas emissions and the use of “forever chemicals.”

At the project’s groundbreaking, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick claimed the Trump administration “fast-tracked” the project after years of delays.

“This groundbreaking only got scheduled at the end of December because the Trump administration cleared out all of the environmental (review) and other things that tend to get in the way,” Lutnick said at the event.

In addition to environmental concerns, Jobs to Move America argued the review lacked commitments to job quality and local hiring. The lawsuit details that Micron has provided no explanation of hiring programs including Syracuse, where underemployment and unemployment rates are high.

Micron and Syracuse University have previously announced partnership initiatives, such as a semiconductor training program for students and veterans. Additionally, Micron has also partnered with Onondaga Community College to provide students technical training for advanced manufacturing.

Micron and the accused government agencies have not publicly responded to the lawsuit, syracuse.com reported Saturday.

Published on January 17, 2026 at 10:04 pm