Lawmakers Move to Stop NY Cryptominers from Harming Communities and the Climate with Landmark Legislation

ALBANY, NY (10/16/2025) (readMedia)-- As communities continue to grapple with energy-hogging cryptomining operations, advocates will be joined by state legislators to call on Albany to stop cryptomining companies from harming local communities and undermining the state's climate goals. At a virtual press conference, the bills' sponsors and residents impacted by cryptomines Greenidge Generation in the Finger Lakes and Digihost/Fortistar in North Tonawanda will urge lawmakers to pass two key measures in the upcoming legislative session. These bills aim to protect New Yorkers from cryptomining and put the public good ahead of corporate profits.

The proposed legislation would serve as a check on these huge corporations and protect communities in the Finger Lakes and North Tonawanda already dealing with the air, water, and noise pollution of nearby cryptomines Greenidge Generation and Digihost/Fortistar that continue to compromise their health and local environment. On top of that pollution, wealthy cryptomining companies are exploiting gaps in existing New York law to abuse the legal process and often pay less than their fair share for the energy they consume as well. The bills would close these gaps, strengthen oversight, and ensure that New York's clean energy future isn't derailed by unchecked crypto operations:

PERMITTING REFORM: S6833A (Harckham)/A8553 (J.G. Wright) would close loopholes that let cryptominers keep operating on expired air permits while dragging out legal challenges. It would suspend any air permit two years after the state denies an air permit, preventing companies like Greenidge Generation in the Finger Lakes from continuing to pollute while contesting the Department of Environmental Conservation's air permit denial - an action the agency has already upheld three times. It would also break the logjam of expired permits that the DEC still hasn't reviewed, even as the next permit term is already nearing expiration, as in the case of Digihost/Fortistar.

EXCISE TAX: S8518 (Krueger)/(Kelles) would impose an excise tax, a usage-based tax, on the massive energy consumption of cryptomining operations. The tax would gradually scale with consumption: the more electricity a mining operation uses in a year, the higher the tax rate on the excess usage. The tax would exempt facilities that get their energy from renewable sources that are not connected to the electric grid, meaning fossil fuel–powered mines like Greenidge Generation and Digihost/Fortistar would be subject to it. The bill ensures cryptominers pay their fair share for the strain they place on New York's energy system.