Impacted Community Groups File Opposition to Greenidge Generation's Push to Saddle FLX with More Litigation

YATES COUNTY, NY (01/09/2025) (readMedia)-- Yesterday evening, Earthjustice filed a brief opposing cryptominer Greenidge Generation's emergency request to push back the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) evidentiary hearing in its ongoing battle for an air permit renewal to continue cryptomining in the Finger Lakes. The State of New York also opposed Greenidge's efforts to delay proceedings. Greenidge cited legal expenses in its attempt to stall administrative legal proceedings while it appealed parts of a Yates County Supreme Court ruling from November. State law allows Greenidge to continue operating while litigation is pending. Granting Greenidge's emergency request would extend the period Greenidge can continue to operate by years.

Earthjustice, along with Whiteman, Osterman, and Hanna LLP, argued on behalf of Seneca Lake Guardian, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes, Fossil Free Tompkins, and the Sierra Club, that Greenidge's maneuver was simply part of its long-term strategy to abuse the legal process so it can continue its unrestrained operations without a valid air permit. By delaying the new hearing, Greenidge would have a green light to continue spewing enormous amounts of climate-killing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere while forcing the surrounding Finger Lakes community to endure the horrible impacts of the cryptomine's constant noise, air, and water pollution.

"Greenidge's request for a stay is meritless on its face. It's ridiculous that Greenidge claims it can't afford basic legal expenses in a proceeding that the publicly-traded company itself commenced," said Mandy DeRoche, a deputy managing attorney in the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice. "Of course the booming cryptomining company has the resources. As the Supreme Court judge stated clearly last month, Greenidge's operations are inconsistent with the CLCPA. Greenidge is doing everything in its power to delay so that it can continue burning fossil fuels to mine Bitcoin as long as possible, at the expense of hardworking Finger Lakes residents, and contrary to the greenhouse gas reduction mandates of the CLCPA. We will continue opposing the company's transparent maneuvers to keep mining Bitcoin every step of the way until it ceases operations for good."

Greenidge sought the emergency stay just before the holidays, weeks after a Yates County Supreme Court ruling in its lawsuit challenging the DEC's denial of its air permit renewal application. The November decision upheld DEC's authority to deny permits for violations of New York's CLCPA. It also stated that Greenidge's operations were inconsistent with the CLCPA, but allowed Greenidge to return to the lower administrative court to present more evidence on whether its continued operation is nonetheless justified. Before that, in May of this year, Greenidge Generation received its third decision from the DEC denying the air permit after appealing to the agency twice.

Earthjustice represents Seneca Lake Guardian, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes, Fossil Free Tompkins, and the Sierra Club. These groups are fighting to protect the upstate communities they serve from the harmful polluting impacts of the Greenidge operation.

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