Every level of government that could have required PFAS protection has stepped back — and the last decision, the County Legislature’s bond vote, was routed to a corporation no voter elected. But the design-build contract with Kiewit is not signed. That is the opening. The people below can still require enforceable limits before it is. Pick one, use the message, make the call.
Limits first. Design second. Contract third.
The Ask
No Kiewit design-build contract until Micron and the County sign a binding user agreement that puts these four things in writing:
Enforceable numeric PFAS discharge limits in the County’s Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit, verified by EPA Method 1633A plus the TOP Assay — not a 10 ng/L action level.
Full liability for PFAS in the discharge on Micron — not the county ratepayers who never made the chemicals.
Micron pays for any future treatment upgrades, including PFAS destruction, if its chemistry changes or the limits tighten.
Nothing proceeds — no Kiewit contract — until that agreement is signed.
Sign
Sign one or both. Each goes to the person with the power to move it — and each name is added to correspondence delivered to that office.
Thank you — your name is added to the petition to Governor Hochul. Now make it count: call the Governor’s office below.
Thank you — your name is added to the petition to County Executive McMahon. Now make it count: call his office below.
Who To Contact
Onondaga County Executive. Controls OCWRC and the County’s user agreement with Micron.
OCWRC — the corporation McMahon stood up — opened contract negotiations with Kiewit on June 16, 2026. He is the one person who can require Micron to accept enforceable limits before that contract is signed.
Dear County Executive McMahon, I'm a resident of [your town]. Before OCWRC signs a design-build contract with Kiewit, I'm asking you to require Micron to accept enforceable numeric PFAS discharge limits — verified by EPA Method 1633A and the TOP Assay — in the County's user agreement and Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit, with Micron holding liability and paying for any future PFAS-destruction upgrades. Limits first. Design second. Contract third. The contract isn't signed yet. There's still time to get this right. Thank you, [Your name, town]
Controls the $5.5B Green CHIPS credits through Empire State Development and directs NYSDEC.
The Governor can condition Micron's state incentives on enforceable limits, direct DEC to require them, and sign the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act sitting on her desk.
Dear Governor Hochul, Micron's Clay fab will discharge PFAS into the Oneida River, which flows to Lake Ontario near the drinking water intake for 500,000 people. The SPDES permit sets zero enforceable PFAS limits. I'm asking you to (1) direct Empire State Development to condition Micron's Green CHIPS credits on enforceable PFAS limits and TOP Assay testing before the treatment-plant contract is awarded, (2) direct NYSDEC to require those limits, and (3) sign the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act (A.5832-B / S.4574-B). Please act before the contract is signed. [Your name, town]
President, CEO & Commissioner, ESD. ESD holds Micron's Green CHIPS Sustainability Plan, which has not yet been approved.
ESD can define “sustainable wastewater management” in that plan to require enforceable PFAS limits, full disclosure, non-targeted testing, and destruction technology — before the design-build contract is awarded.
Dear Commissioner Knight, Empire State Development has committed up to $5.5 billion in Green CHIPS credits to Micron, tied to a Sustainability Plan that has not been approved. I'm asking ESD to define "sustainable wastewater management" in that plan to require full PFAS disclosure, non-targeted characterization including the TOP Assay, PFAS destruction (not filtration or concentration), and enforceable numeric discharge limits — all completed before the design-build contract is awarded. [Your name, town]
The IJC advises the U.S. and Canada on Great Lakes water under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).
Micron’s discharge reaches Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence — shared waters with Canada. The IJC acts on references from the two national governments, so the lever is asking the Governor and New York’s U.S. Senators to request an IJC reference designating this discharge a Chemical of Mutual Concern under the GLWQA. You can also submit public input directly to the IJC.
I'm writing about Micron's planned PFAS discharge from its Clay, NY semiconductor fab into the Oneida River, which flows to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence — shared waters with Canada. I'm asking you to request that the International Joint Commission take up this discharge as a transboundary Chemical of Mutual Concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and to press for enforceable PFAS limits before New York permits this discharge. This is a binational concern and deserves binational review. [Your name, town]
Oswego, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence Counties sit downstream on the Oswego River → Lake Ontario → St. Lawrence path. Their legislatures can pass resolutions demanding limits.
A resolution from a downstream county puts on the record that this is not just an Onondaga County decision — the water, the drinking-water intake near Oswego, and the Thousand Islands fishery belong to communities with no vote in Syracuse.
Clerk of the Legislature
Betsy Sherman-Saunders
46 E. Bridge St., Oswego
I'm a resident of [county]. Our drinking water and fishery draw from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, downstream of Micron's planned PFAS discharge in Onondaga County. I'm asking the [County] Legislature to pass a resolution demanding enforceable PFAS discharge limits and TOP Assay testing before Onondaga County awards the treatment-plant contract. Downstream communities deserve a voice before the contract is signed — not after. [Your name, town]
Every call and email lands harder when it’s backed by thousands of signatures on the record. Add yours, and share this page with one person who drinks this water.
Sign the Petition See the Four GatesContact information on this page is compiled from official government sources and is publicly listed. Phone numbers and forms are for the offices named; please be respectful — a brief, factual, first-person message from a constituent carries the most weight. This is an independent public-interest advocacy campaign.