Local officials hope to hear within the next two months whether they will be allowed to make key moves to ready a site being marketed to nanotechnology firms.

A major stumbling block has existed with plans to attract a nanochip fabrication plant to land at SUNYIT: A standoff with the federal Army Corps of Engineers.

Local officials want to make the site as ready as possible for a potential buyer and the many jobs that could be brought to the site.

But the Army Corps doesnt want the sites wetlands to be touched until a buyer is found.

Developers want a site that is shovel and permit ready, said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente. Thats a big piece that holds us up.

In December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that the Army Corps reconsider their policy.

Now, a separate branch of the federal agency is reviewing the situation. Mohawk Valley EDGE officials said they expect an answer within the next 30 to 60 days.

In September, Cuomo announced $4.4 billion in private investment in nanotechnology initiatives in New York state. That was in addition to the 2009 announcement that $45 million in state funds would be spent at SUNYIT to create a state of the art nanotechnology research and development compound.

The nanotechnology industry may be shifting to the use of differently sized chips and will need plants to fabricate those, EDGE President Steven DiMeo said.

With the industry shift to 450 mm technology, there are growing opportunities for new plants to be sited, and we are positioning Marcy Nanocenter at SUNYIT as that site, he said. Our goal is to reduce time to market for the next fab by performing some of the initial site preparation activities.

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Officials wait for decision on need for permit for nano site