Environmental groups make plea to Intel

RIO RANCHO — Members of the CHIPS Communities United action group hosted a public webinar on Thursday to discuss Intel’s recent layoffs, the company’s environmental impact on local communities, and make a simple plea to the computer manufacturing mega-giant: “Don’t make us pay for your financial mismanagement.”

CCU alleges Intel is attempted to renege on contract stipulations the company agreed to in order to receive federal stipends, or “CHIPS Act funds.” Among those contractual requirements in question are ecological concessions Intel agreed to, including air and water pollution guidelines.

Those ecological stipulations were at the heart of the group’s webinar. Representatives from four communities in which Intel operates were in the Zoom meeting to share their stories, as were representatives from CCU.

Rio Rancho is a CHIPS community, and Intel has operated in the City of Vision since 1980. In 2024, the Rio Rancho Intel plant received $500 million in CHIPS funding.

According to Intel, the CHIPS funding is supposed to go toward modernization and expansion of operations.

“The CHIPS Act is a critical component to keeping the chip manufacturing and these technologies right here in the United States; it’s important,” said Mayor Gregg Hull in a statement at the time of the funding announcement.

Attendees at the CHIPS Communities United webinar included Dennis O’Mara, co-chair for Clean Air for All Now! (New Mexico); Mary Peveto, executive director for Neighbors for Clean Air (Oregon); Dillion Wild, an organizer for United Auto Workers (Arizona); Bailey Sandin, a Work and Wages Fellow with Policy Matters Ohio; Lenny Siegel, executive director of Center for Public Environmental Oversight; and Rand Wilson, strategic advisor for CHIPS Communities United.

O’Mara was the first to speak after an introduction from the moderator, Judith Barish.

“[Rio Rancho] really offers a cautionary tale for other communities around the country,” said Barish.

“I began working on this issue in 2011 when my house began to fill with Intel’s fumes during the early morning hours as my swamp cooler brought in outside air,” O’Mara said. “My wife and I would wake up with burning nasal passages, throat and lungs.”

O’Mara alleges other residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the Intel plant have experienced upper respiratory issues as well.

“Intel remains committed to minimizing its environmental footprint as it expands its operations to support the growing demand for semiconductors,” the company said in a news release announcing the opening of its Fab 9 factory in Rio Rancho in January 2024. “Fab 9 is on track to meet its goal to recycle at least 90% of construction waste, exceeding the goal most recently in November and December 2023.”

In Rio Rancho, where Intel’s investments in the community are robust and well-documented, Sandoval County recently voted to renew the company’s lease until October 2034.

O’Mara was followed by the other three representatives who each read a statement asking for Intel to honor their environmental obligations to the communities in which they conduct manufacturing.

Peveto cited a specific example in her Portland, Oregon, community in which the “scrubber” required for cleaning harmful chemicals out of the smoke ejected from the company’s smokestacks were out of operation for nine weeks. The community was notified of the matter after the fact, said Peveto.

According to CCU, Intel is hoping to expand its operations, while at the same time laying off large numbers of employees and ignoring contractual environmental obligations.

Intel announced in October 2024 it would be laying off 15,000 employees globally as the chip manufacturing giant seeks to cut $10 million from its budget.

CCU also expressed concern that all environmental requirements will simply be thrown out and negotiations will end considering the new presidental administration, which CCU feels will almost certainly allow Intel to break its contract.

President Donald Trump has issued sweeping environmental regulation rollbacks by executive order since entering office on Jan. 20. Most have been blocked by judges and are being appealed.

According to a New York Times study, “By the end of Trump’s [first] term, his administration had rolled back 98 environmental rules and regulations, leaving an additional 14 rollbacks still in progress.”

To find out more about CCU, visit chipscommunitiesunited.org.

To learn more about Intel’s environmental policy and impact, visit intel.com.