After SCOTUS Overturned Chevron Doctrine, Hochul Must Protect Climate Law & Deny WNY Cryptominer's Air Permit

NORTH TONAWANDA, NY (07/01/2024) (readMedia)-- On Friday, the Supreme Court voted to overturn the Chevron Doctrine, as established in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which provided deference for more than forty years to federal agencies to implement laws passed by Congress. The ruling will embolden potential challenges to policies enacted by federal agencies including the EPA, making the need for states to take action to protect the climate even clearer.

"As the Supreme Court continues to gut the EPA's ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, it's more important than ever that Governor Hochul stands up for New York's Climate Law. Two years ago when the Supreme Court similarly stripped the EPA's authority, Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation acted swiftly to deny the air permit renewal for Greenidge Generation, the climate-killing cryptomining operation in the Finger Lakes. Now, the Digihost cryptomining operation in North Tonawanda is rapidly ramping up operations to the detriment of New Yorkers and the planet, and flying in the face of our climate law. Governor Hochul and the DEC MUST swiftly act again to begin the public process of denying Digihost's air permit," said Mandy DeRoche, Deputy Managing Attorney in the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice

About cryptomining at Digihost/Fortistar North Tonawanda

Almost exactly two years ago on June 30, 2022, the NYS DEC denied the Title V Air Permit renewal for Greenidge Generation, a crypto mining facility in the Finger Lakes, citing dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions. This decision has now been upheld twice, in 2023 and 2024. This sets a precedent for the DEC to deny Digihost's air permit renewal application. Like Greenidge, Digihost has been operating on an expired DEC-issued air permit. Digihost's air permit expired two and a half years ago on November 8, 2021, and its application for permit renewal has been pending for over three years.

Before Digihost's purchase of the gas plant, it previously operated as a peaker plant that occasionally provided energy to the grid, about 3-5 weeks a year at at 0.9% to 4% of its annual capacity. With Digihost's change in operations to mine cryptocurrency in early 2023, the facility is steadily increasing their emissions by combusting fracked gas 24/7/365 to mine Bitcoin. Digihost has informed DEC that they plan to emit 312,000 tons of greenhouse emissions yearly, equivalent to the energy use of more than 165,000 homes. That's more than double the total amount of emissions they released in 2016-2023 on a YEARLY basis.

This drastic increase in operations is making the facility a major source of local air pollution and climate change-accelerating greenhouse gas emissions - while the rest of the state focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet the mandates of NYS's climate law. When it is operating, the facility is also a constant source of health-harming noise pollution for the people who live near the plant.

While the City of North Tonawanda is surrounded by water and wildlife, it already bears the burden of significant pollution. Communities surrounding the gas plant have been designated as "disadvantaged communities" under state law, and include census tracts that the state has assessed as bearing an environmental burden greater than that borne by 90% of the state. The increase in operations from cryptomining at the Digihost/Fortistar gas plant will harm an already environmentally overburdened community, in violation of New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

On top of creating significant air pollution, there are also water use and discharge concerns. When the Digihost/Fortistar gas plant ramps up to 24/7 operations to mine crypto, it will use and then discharge hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot water into an already-overburdened and aging municipal water system that is in need of major upgrades.

There are also serious noise pollution concerns. The Buffalo News recently published a story detailing the major noise pollution Digihost causes, and how it adversely impacts North Tonawanda residents. Residents described it as nails on a chalkboard that can get louder at night, making it difficult to sleep. A growing body of research shows that chronic noise is a largely unrecognized health threat that increases the risk of hypertension, stroke, and heart attacks. Noise pollution also impacts human physical health and mental health, as well the health of pets and wildlife.

On November 22, 2022, Governor Hochul signed the first-in-the-nation two-year moratorium on new and renewed air permits for fossil-fueled power plants that produce their own energy to mine crypto. The new law requires the DEC perform a full environmental impact assessment on the energy and environmental impacts of crypto mining operations. However, the moratorium did not affect air permit applications that had already been submitted before its enactment, such as Fortistar's application. The public comment process for the Environmental Impact Statement required by the moratorium law has begun. Impacted communities and those concerned with CLCPA compliance are looking forward to a robust Environmental Impact Statement from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

About Cryptomining Across the Country

In a report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that Earth is likely to cross a critical and dire threshold for global warming within the next decade if we don't quickly and drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But after China banned proof-of-work crypto-mining (the process Bitcoin uses), citing, among other things, the environmental threats that mining poses to meeting emissions reduction goals, the U.S. is now hosting many energy-intensive proof-of-work crypto-mining operations. While these facilities of automated machines create few new jobs, they threaten the climate, in addition to small businesses, local economies, and natural resources.

Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive process that requires thousands of machines whirring 24/7 to solve complex equations. The more machines that are running, the faster a coin is mined. Each one of these machines requires energy to run, plus more energy for cooling. Globally, Bitcoin mining consumes more energy each year than entire countries. Fossil-fueled mining facilities can also be major emitters of local air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and electronic waste, among other externalities on impacted host communities.

Last year, the New York Times published an in-depth expose about the negative impacts of proof-of-work Bitcoin mining. In September 2022, the White House sounded the alarm about cryptocurrency mining - the Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report about the industry's climate threats and the need for regulation. Earthjustice and the Sierra Club released a Guidebook as well, with state-specific follow-ups to cryptomining in Pennsylvania, Texas, Kentucky, and Indiana, as well as on related topics including right to mine legislation and the lack of energy use reporting requirements for cryptominers.

About Earthjustice

Earthjustice represents several clients with respect to Digihost's operations, including the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. Earthjustice also partners with local advocates and residents.

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.