The Micron project proposed for the White Pine Commerce Park is a vital 21st century version of the GE Electronics Park and GM Salina plant that provided a high-technology Syracuse economy almost a century ago.
The environmental review process for the Micron project is very different from the Interstate 81 decision process. I-81 is a 100% publicly funded project that must be in Onondaga County. It focused on two very different alternatives and a choice had to be made between them to have a functioning highway with numerous potential modifications possible to both options. The Micron environmental review is a yes/no choice — either the project proceeds at this site or it gets done somewhere else like Texas or Taiwan. A public comment period of 45 days is adequate time for evaluating a yes/no decision.
For the sake of the region’s economic future, there must be a clear reason to delay or reject the Micron project; it cannot just be “we would like it to be different” which would effectively be a “no” decision. If we decide not to allow the project, then we should plan on Onondaga County becoming largely a retirement community in the next couple of decades…