SungEel MCC Americas has been issued a state permit for the $23 million lithium-ion battery recycling facility it hopes to build in an Endicott residential neighborhood.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has given approval for the project that is planned at the former site of the IBM manufacturing complex.

The recycling plant is to be set up at the Huron Campus on Clark Street in a building just east of several homes on Robble Avenue. The site is south of the village's George W. Johnson Park.

Endicott Mayor Linda Jackson Wednesday said she had hoped additional meetings could have been held to provide more information to residents before the permit was issued. But she said disruptions caused by the coronavirus response have "thrown a wrench in my plans."

Jackson said the village is about to hire an independent environmental consultant to evaluate the process that culminated in the permit approval. She said she doesn't know how long the review will take to complete.

Jackson said she has requested that SungEel MCC Americas delay moving forward on developing the project until the evaluation has been finished.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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