Micron Is Coming

Page Updated: 11/3/23

We are excited for Micron coming to CNY thanks to Senator Schumer’s Chips & Science Act and NY State’s Innovative Green CHIPS Legislation bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. But Central New Yorkers have been through many of these deals before and promises have not been kept. How will Micron be different?

Let’s look at the agreements, promises, issues and concerns raised by the community as we follow this project. To contact Micron visit: https://www.micron.com/ny

Updates

CHIPS Communities United: Over 50 national and local groups call on semiconductor manufacturing companies to deliver on the promise of good jobs, stronger communities and environmental protections
A new coalition of public interest organizations, known as CHIPS Communities United (CCU), released a public letter calling on semiconductor companies receiving billions in U.S. tax dollars to “avoid the problems of the past and achieve a new, higher standard of accountability as prioritized by the Biden Administration.”

The new coalition’s call for action is addressed to the CEOs of top semiconductor companies that have announced plans to build semiconductor facilities using CHIPS funds, along with Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) leadership. In the letter, the coalition calls upon companies “benefiting from public subsidies to ensure that the promised economic and social benefits of the CHIPS Act are also realized for the workers and communities where facilities are situated.” The letter was signed by over 50 organizations, including labor unions and economic and environmental justice organizations concerned about the industry’s well-documented history of polluting the environment, harming workers and their children, busting unions, avoiding taxes, and burdening host communities with significant problems.

Micron Community Engagement Committee: https://www.microncec.org/

Micron and the state appointed the Micron Community Engagement Committee, which will establish a Communities Priorities Document that will serve as a guiding strategy to ensure that “greater central New York” benefits from the Community Investment fund. To begin their work on the Community Priorities document, the committee is conducting an online survey now that anyone can fill out in 10 minutes or less.

Click here to take Micron survey

Micron applies for federal CHIPS Act aid for $100 billion Central New York project (August 2023)

‘Mind-boggling’ machines are headed for Micron’s Clay fabs, and so are the world’s top chip suppliers (September 2023)

Questions & Asks

Some questions/concerns that have come up in the CNY Solidarity State & Local Action Committee are:

Are the 9,000 jobs at Micron union jobs?
- No, the 9,000 jobs at Micron are not represented by any union.
Is Micron building their own wastewater facility? This infrastructure cost should not be put on taxpayers.
- Micron bought a 37 acre vacant parcel for 5 million. Micron has said the land will be used for a wastewater pumping station to be built and run by the Onondaga County Water Environment Protection department. Meaning taxpayers will be building & maintaining this infrastructure that only Micron will use.
Concerns about thermal issues with water usage. How will Micron cool the water they use?
What is the impact on the surrounding wetland?
With a 2 million square foot footprint they should produce as much energy as they can. Will Micron commit to covering their roof and parking lots in solar panels and/or wind turbines if applicable?
Are you planning to capture the excess heat in your wastewater and use it to heat other buildings on your campus with a thermal energy network using heat pumps?
Will Micron use climate-conscious building materials like plywood & mass timber?
Will Micron campus will be net-zero?
- Currently in their master plan, their goal is to have LEED Gold Fab Buildings & LEED Platinum Admin Buildings.
We need a better bus system to get residents to these jobs. Where is the transportation plan for Onondaga County?
Affordable Housing. We need more now, where is the plan? Why is Onondaga County building housing for fish but not people?

Have answers to these questions, additional questions, concerns or information to add this this page send an email us.

Read this LTE from Senator Rachel May that addresses some of our concerns above.

Micron should build chip factory with wood — and SUNY ESF can help.

Micron’s unmatched environmental impact at Clay chip fabs doubles in latest estimates
“…it’s more than the 40 million gallons the entire city of Syracuse uses in a day.”

Micron’s unmatched environmental impact will impact our health (Your Letters)

Government Agencies Involved

Town of Clay

Town Board is reviewing OCIDA’s application for a zone change
- July 13, 2023: Clay Town Board voted 6 – 0 to change the zoning on 862 acres of the 1,200 acre park on Route 31 from residential and agricultural to industrial with little consideration of how the zone change would the impact the environment. A review of environmental impacts and additional town planning board approvals will be needed when Micron submits a site plan. The Town of Clay’s planning board voted 5 – 1 on June 14 supporting rezoning the property. See White Pine Commerce Park Zone Change Documents on Town of Clay’s website
- OCIDA is requesting that 862 acres of the 1,200 acre White Pine Commerce Park be rezoned from residential to industrial. The other 339 acres of the park are already zoned for industrial use. See past project documents at https://www.ongoved.com/ocida/project-documents/ scroll down until you find 2021 White Pine.

Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency

July 19, 2023 Micron requesting largest tax break in Onondaga County history (Nearly 300 million in local tax breaks.) The goal, McMahon said, is for Micron to bring high-paying jobs and drive other business and property development to the county, rather than rely on the computer chipmaker to take on a large piece of the local tax burden. “We’re not going to be making money on property taxes on this,” McMahon said. “We’re going to be making money on economic growth.” Review Micron’s application for tax breaks.
Lead Agency to review New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) working with NYS DEC, NYS DOT & NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

Empire State Development

View the terms of the agreement between Micron and Empire State Development.

Federal Department of Commerce

Assumed to be Lead Agency for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) working with US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US EPA & Federal Highway Administration.

Environmental Review Timeline

Jan 2023 – Jan 2024: EIS Preparation
Feb 2024 – Mar 2024: DEIS & Draft Permit Public Review
Mar – June 2024: FEIS Preparation & Record of Decision
June – Oct 2024: Final Permit Reviews

The Agreements

Onondaga County

The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency and Micron will enter into a 49-year PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement and abatement of state and local sales tax on construction expenses. The Onondaga County Department of Water and Environment Protection and the Onondaga County Water Authority will make necessary water and wastewater infrastructure improvements over the project lifecycle to support the project and surrounding community.

Micron would get $284M property tax break under proposed deal with Onondaga County, records show (Oct 28, 2022) syracuse.com

Onondaga County will provide:

$5 million façade grant.
$10 million investment in conjunction with Syracuse University to establish a semiconductor research and development initiative to be located at the Syracuse Center of Excellence.
$5 million workforce sustainability grant to be disbursed over ten years to help fund local skills development for Onondaga County residents, in partnership with local institutions such as Onondaga Community College.
$5 million workforce attraction grant to assist with hiring during the initial project ramp-up.

New York State

Up to $5.5 billion in Green CHIPS Excelsior tax credits over two phases over 20 years based on performance-based incentives. These targeted incentives are directly tied to Micron creating 9,000 new jobs, investing $100 billion, and meeting the Green CHIPS community benefits package and sustainability standards.
$200 million for necessary road and other infrastructure improvements surrounding the campus
$100 million in funding for community benefits as part of the $500 million Green CHIPS Community Fund.
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees will review a power allocation award from NYPA’s low-cost ReCharge NY power program at a future public meeting.

Micron

Create 9,000 new jobs
Invest $100 billion
Meet the Green CHIPS sustainability standards
At least $250 million of community benefits as part of the Green CHIPS Community Fund over the next 20 years.

Promises

Create, on average, nearly 50,000 jobs in New York State per year, including 9,000 jobs directly with the company.
Grow New York State’s economy significantly, generating an additional $16.7 billion in real (inflation adjusted) economic output, on average per year and $9.6 billion in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on average.
Provide an estimated annual average of $5.4 billion in real disposable personal income to New York residents.
Generate an average annual increase of $556 million in state government revenue, totaling $17.2 billion over the first 31 years of the project, and an average annual increase of $826.1 million in revenue to local governments, totaling $25.6 billion over the same timeframe.
Be one of the largest construction projects in North America, with construction spending of $31 billion and 5,600 related construction jobs on average at federal prevailing wage, for the initial 20 years.
Micron will commit to 20 years’ worth of community investments. These investments will be supported by a $500 million Green Chips Community Investment Fund, seeded with contributions of $100 million by ESD, at least $250 million by Micron, and the remainder by local, statewide, and national partners.

Energy Usage

Micron’s stops this week in Oswego County show how it could play pivotal roles in chip fab (April 29, 2023) syracuse.com

“Gatzemeier also met with officials from Constellation Energy, which just started producing hydrogen at its Nine Mile Point Nuclear Plant, in Oswego. Micron said last fall it hoped to use hydrogen “to the extent feasible to displace/replace natural gas” consumption.” Read more on syracuse.com

Large Scale Solar Roofs Getting The Respect They Deserve

“When you run all the numbers, there can be significant economic advantages to producing solar power close to where it will be consumed.” Read it on CleanTechnica

How Would Micron’s Electricity-Hogging Plant Here Live With NY’s War On Fossil Fuels?

“Micron Technology’s planned semiconductor fabrication plant in Clay would consume more electricity than the entire state of Vermont… 640 million kilowatt-hours a month, more than enough for 1 million average New York homes.” Read it on Syracuse.com

And here’s a comment from a well- informed friend: “So Micron will need 380 wind turbines and 3,282 kW (5.3 acres) of solar capacity to meet its electricity demand.”

Water & The Environment

More Domestic Chip-Making Means More ‘Forever Chemicals’ (Oct 2023)

Onondaga County’s Wastewater treatment agency prepares for Micron, surrounding development In Central New York, Micron’s new semiconductor plant is expected to use nearly 50 million gallons of water per day. (Sept 2023)

When fully built, the plant will use 48,000 million gallons of Lake Ontario water every day. That’s more than 350,000 typical homes use. That’s double the estimate of less than a year ago, and it’s more than the 40 million gallons the entire city of Syracuse uses in a day. Would require the construction of a water line from Oswego to Clay that could cost 100 million dollars. Who will pay for this?

Where Micron would find 20 million gallons of water per day (Oct 11, 2022) spectrumlocalnews.com

Micron wants our water. What happens when they’re done with it? (Oct 12, 2022) syracuse.com

Where will it come from and where will it end up?
What is the temperature and the precise chemical makeup of the effluent?
Do we lack the technical innovation or the political will to mandate Micron treat and recycle the water onsite?
What is our water worth? And who will ultimately pay?

How will Onondaga County supply Micron with 20 million gallons of water every day? (Oct 24, 2022) syracuse.com

Onondaga “county has already agreed to spend $200 million to expand the Oak Orchard plant, although it’s not clear how much of that would be for the closed-loop recycling to and from Micron.”

Housing & Transportation

Industrial park planned in Clay for Micron spinoff development (Mar 27, 2023) syracuse.com

Although this project promises population growth for Onondaga County, the County continues to spend 2.1 million of taxpayer money on future private companies opportunities instead of buying and building housing for Onondaga County residents.

Smart growth: How planning and transportation could help maximize Micron’s impact on Syracuse (Nov 1, 2022) centralcurrent.org

Great reporting from the Central Current about issues with our current bus system in Onondaga County and how it can improve. https://centralcurrent.org/category/news-and-photo/government-politics/transportation/

Exclusionary zoning policies in Onondaga County

Child Care

Micron pays $1.4 million for land to build a child care center near planned fab in Clay
Providing child care is also one of many requirements chip makers need to provide if they want to compete for billions of federal dollars for building new fabs.