Biden exempts certain semiconductor companies from environmental evaluations.

Yasir AliOctober 3, 2024

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Biden exempts certain semiconductor companies from environmental evaluations.

Biden’s exemption of certain semiconductor companies from environmental reviews is here. Understand the effects on innovation and regulations now!

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed legislation that will spare certain American semiconductor manufacturing plants that receive government subsidies from federal environmental reviews.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, projects funded by the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act of 2022 might have required additional federal environmental studies to obtain federal licenses if the new law had not been enacted.

Without the modification, the projects’ supporters claim they may have experienced years of further delays because they had already complied with all applicable federal, state, and municipal environmental standards and permitting requirements.

The assessments, according to environmental organizations like the Sierra Club, are necessary to “keep workers and communities safe from the dangerous substances applied in the chip industry.”

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Over $35 billion has been allotted by the Commerce Department of the United States to 26 projects. These projects include the $6.4 billion in grants that Samsung, a South Korean company, will receive under the 2022 law to expand its chip production in Texas; Intel; TSMC, a Taiwanese company, will receive $6.6 billion to expand its American production; and Micron Technology, which will receive $6.1 billion to fund U.S. factories.

The administration has affirmed its dedication to “maintaining our pledge to ensure that semiconductor initiatives are constructed and managed in compliance with clean water, clean air, endangered species, and other federal mandates, while also reducing hazards and effects on workers, public health, and the environment.”

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Without the regulation, the chips Industries Association would have given a warning that the reviews might have halted or slowed down ongoing projects. Senators Mark Kelly of the Democratic Party and Ted Cruz of the Republican Party co-authored the legislation.

“By eliminating unnecessary delays in building microchip manufacturing facilities, this bill will bolster our endeavors to return this industry to America, creating thousands of well-paying jobs and fortifying our supply chains,” stated Kelly.

Cruz said the attempt to streamline licenses is “a crucial step in onshoring jobs and making our country less dependent on China for chips critical to national defense.”

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren criticized the bill, noting that California has contaminated sites resulting from past semiconductor or microelectronics manufacturing.

“We ought to learn from this legacy to ensure we do not repeat it,” she stated, emphasizing that reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act are “an essential tool in this context.”