Syracuse, N.Y. – State regulators approved important environmental permits for Micron Technology on Friday, putting the company closer to beginning site work for a massive semiconductor plant in Clay.
The nine permits require Micron to protect freshwater wetlands, water quality, and endangered and threatened species by minimizing impacts to natural areas, said Amanda Lefton, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state permits pave the way for local and federal permit approvals that will allow the company to begin construction “in the coming weeks.”
“This is the result of one of the most exhaustive expert analyses ever considered for a project in New York State history and balances Micron’s manufacturing needs with the environmental needs of the site and the surrounding communities,” she said in a statement.
Neither the DEC nor Hochul’s office specified Friday night when Micron might clear additional approvals needed to start work on the Clay site.
Micron announced in 2022 that it had selected a 1,400-acre site at the northeast corner of Route 31 and Caughdenoy Road in Clay for a semiconductor fabrication plant that will cost up to $100 billion to build over 20 years and employ up to 9,000 people. The complex would be the largest single private investment in New York state history.
The Idaho-based manufacturer of memory chips has said it hopes to begin site work by the end of 2025 and expects to start production at the plant in 2030.
Micron needs to complete clearing the site of trees by March 31 to avoid the nesting season of the endangered Indiana bat. It will take about two months to complete the clearing, so time is of the essence.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said Thursday that, in addition to the state environmental permits, the company needs town approval of its stormwater pollution protection plan, as well as approvals from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He said he expects those approvals to come soon.
