President Joe Biden legislation signed on Wednesday exempting semiconductor manufacturing facilities that received funding under the Science and CHIPS Act from federal environmental reviews.
The Building Chips in America Act exempts manufacturing projects, such as those by Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., from the need for a review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The result, chipmakers hope, will be a more streamlined construction process for your projects.
The legislation has had a contentious path, with industry groups saying it is necessary to avoid construction delays and continue building the nation’s semiconductor industry. Environmental reviews can take years to complete, which groups such as the Semiconductor Industry Association said would delay projects.
Environmental groups like the Sierra Club, on the other hand, say it creates a dangerous path for an industry that uses PFAS in production to evade required reviews. The group unsuccessfully lobbied Biden to veto the bill.
“This bill would remove the last remaining federal lever to assess the impact of large semiconductor factories on drinking water, air quality, climate change and community health,” Harry Manin , deputy legislative director of Industrial Policy of the national Sierra Club. he said in a statement on October 2.
PFASs are commonly present in chemicals used to make semiconductors, such as photoresist liquids that resist exposure to UV light, as well as in equipment, including high-purity water distribution systems in power plants. ‘chips, according to the Semi industrial group.
The bill was spearheaded in the Senate by Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. His state is home to some of the largest semiconductor construction projects in the country, including Intel’s $20 billion manufacturing plants i The three factories of TSMC a combined value of $65 billion. Both companies will receive billions of dollars in CHIPS funding for the projects.
The law’s passage comes as semiconductor companies move forward with their manufacturing construction projects across the country, some of which have already suffered delays.
In February, Intel delayed its $20 billion Ohio projectciting a sluggish chip market. A month before TSMC delayed the timeline of its second factory in Arizona, after already delaying its first plant due to a lack of skilled labor.
The law passed unanimously in the Senate late last year and quickly passed the House of Representatives in September.
“Getting this bill passed and becoming law took more than a year of negotiation and bipartisan work.” Kelly said in a statement. “The result is a smart and effective policy that will maximize our efforts to bring microchip manufacturing back to America by avoiding unnecessary delays in building these factories.”
