SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND SECURE $11+ MILLION FOR PORT OF OSWEGO TO BUILD 1ST WATERSIDE, CLIMATE-CONTROLLED WAREHOUSE AT A GREAT LAKES PORT, ADDING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR UPSTATE NY’S RAPIDLY GROWING CHIPS & MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

Senators Say Highly Competitive DOT Funding Will Greenlight Port of Oswego Priority Project To Replace Aging Warehouse With New, Climate-Controlled Facility With Easy Access To Rail & Port Allowing For Temperature Sensitive Materials Like Gases For The Semiconductor Industry And Other In Demand Products

Schumer, Gillibrand: Full Steam Ahead For Port Of Oswego!

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a major $11,250,000 in federal funding for the Port of Oswego to construct a new, climate-controlled warehouse for Upstate NY’s growing semiconductor, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing industries. The highly competitive federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law will help replace the decades old damaged warehouse with the Great Lakes’ first climate-controlled warehouse at a port with access to rail, road, and water.

“The Port of Oswego is a major gateway for industry for all of Upstate NY, and today it got a major boost to help the region grow. I’m proud to secure a whopping $11+ million from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law to help create the first climate-controlled warehouse at a Great Lakes Port right here in Central NY,” said Senator Schumer. “Strong port infrastructure like this is essential for Upstate NY’s booming chips, manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries. This new state of the art storage facility will mean more business at our port, access to critical infrastructure to help industries grow in the area, and new opportunities to create more jobs, jobs, jobs. It’s full steam ahead for the Port of Oswego!”

“Strong port infrastructure is crucial to ensure seamless transport of commodities that help New York’s economy thrive,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This critical grant will help modernize the Port of Oswego, allowing for the construction of a new climate-controlled warehouse and the replacement of an existing guard house at the port. I’m proud to have helped secure this funding, and I will continue working to send federal dollars to New York for the modernization of our infrastructure.”

“The Port of Oswego Authority, and I, as director, would like to personally thank Senator Chuck Schumer for months of hard work and advocacy to deliver this $11.25 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant to enable us to build a new, top-of-the-line warehouse that is ideal for both our immediate needs and the needs of future clients, including New York State’s burgeoning semiconductor, microelectronics and advanced manufacturing industries,” said Port of Oswego Executive Director Bill Scriber. "The warehouse will be transformative for both the Port, and for all of Upstate NY, because it will be the only climate-controlled warehouse with access to rail, road, and water, making it uniquely suited to support the largest chip fabrication facilities in New York State. It will be filled immediately with business from customers who have contacted us seeking climate-controlled storage, helping generate new jobs growth in our community. On behalf of us all in Oswego County, we are extremely grateful to Senator Schumer for his steadfast, ongoing support of the Port and his dedicated personal investment in growing the Port and our Central New York economy.”

The Port of Oswego currently operates a 40,000-square-foot, timber-framed warehouse constructed in the 1980s. In 2013, the warehouse’s south end collapsed during a storm due to snow and wind damage. Despite repairs, the warehouse remains in bad shape, leaving tens of thousands of square-feet of prime shipping and logistics space underutilized, limiting Port operations. Thanks to the Senators’ advocacy, this major $11.25 million DOT investment from the Port Infrastructure Development Program will allow the Port of Oswego to fill the significant unmet need for waterside, climate controlled storage at a Great Lakes Port.

The new Port of Oswego warehouse will be a steel framed, metal-clad, 30-foot tall structure with 22,500-square-feet of climate-controlled storage for goods and products sensitive to humidity and temperature, specifically allowing for controlled temperatures ranging from just above freezing to seventy degrees. The climate controlled warehouse is critical for the Port to support growing demand for the storage of climate-sensitive goods and products, including materials, chemicals, and gasses used in microchip manufacturing, including Micron’s historic $100+ billion investment in nearby Onondaga County, wind and solar energy components, and infrastructure supporting hydrogen production. The federal funding will also help replace the outdated guard house to accommodate the Port’s evolving security needs, monitor all traffic entering and exiting the Port, and ensure personnel, asset and freight safety.

Schumer has a long history of fighting to deliver robust funding to protect the Port of Oswego. In August 2023, Schumer secured $4 million for the Port of Oswego to improve rail infrastructure and purchase new cargo handling equipment. In October 2022, Schumer secured over $750,000 for the Port to purchase a new environmentally friendly reach stacker to bolster port operations. In 2019, Schumer successfully pushed the USACE to fund a feasibility study on the deepening of the Port of Oswego Channel, and he helped secure a waiver allowing the Port of Oswego to export tens-of-thousands of tons worth of soybeans from local farmers to promising international markets.

Schumer successfully pushed to include $2.25 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act for the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), and an additional $50 million was made available to the program under the FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, resulting in a total of $500 million in FY2024 PIDP grant funding that enabled this award.

A copy of Senator Schumer’s original letter of support is included below:

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

I am pleased to write in support of the grant application submitted by the Port of Oswego Authority to the Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program.

The Port of Oswego is New York State’s only port on Lake Ontario and is the first U.S. port of call on the Great Lakes from the St. Lawrence Seaway. Located on the designated USDOT Marine Highway, the Port is critical for U.S. industry, as it is accessible from any international port and is a key route to delivering raw materials, agricultural goods and manufactured products to the interior of the United States. It offers intermodal connectivity, with on-dock rail and a new railyard, as well as ready access to the Interstate highway system. Nearly 120 vessels and more than one million tons of cargo move through the Port of Oswego on an annual basis.

Currently, there is no waterside climate-controlled storage space at ports along the Great Lakes. However, there is significant demand for it, as many raw materials and goods will move to market quicker and more efficiently if they are stored at consistent temperatures and humidity levels. The Port of Oswego’s Warehouse Modernization project will add climate-controlled storage capacity for customers, creating a distinct opportunity that will address a great need for importers of goods. The project will support regional economic growth, improve operational efficiencies, and position the Port for future growth. With Micron investing in its new chip fab facility only 30 miles from the Port, this project will be undertaken at a crucial time for the region and New York State. It will ensure construction materials and other raw materials for Micron operations are able to be stored temporarily dockside at the Port before being transported to the Micron site. The project will also support the addition of up to 8 new full-time, good-paying jobs at the Port, as well as support the thousands of jobs that will be created through the Micron investment.

Finally, the new warehouse will provide expanded and improved storage at a low environmental cost, in line with US DOT Climate Action goals and Governor Hochul’s net-zero emissions goals laid out in New York’s Climate Act. The building will be sustainably designed and will incorporate renewable energy sources, such as solar, to offset the need for commercial power for the heating and cooling system.

I applaud the Port of Oswego Authority for its foresight in submitting this grant application and sincerely hope it is met with your approval. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my grants coordinator in our Washington DC office at (202) 224-6542. Thank you for your consideration.

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