Biden signs bill exempting some semiconductor factories from new environmental reviews

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed legislation that will exempt some U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities from new federal environmental reviews that are receiving government subsidies, the White House said.

Without the new law, projects from the $52.7 billion semiconductor chips manufacturing and research program could have been forced to get new environmental reviews under a federal law taking potentially years that had already faced federal, state, and local environmental regulations and permitting requirements.