Seneca Lake Guardian Responds to Mayor Adams Flip-Flopping On Cryptomining Moratorium

DRESDEN, NY (06/13/2022) (readMedia)-- Today, Crains reported that Mayor Adams will ask Governor Hochul to veto the cryptomining moratorium bill, going back on a previous statement in February 2022 where he said he opposed cryptomining. Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian, issued the following statement in response:

"Mayor Adams – who has a 29% approval rating according to the latest Siena poll – is clearly responding to his crypto donors over the needs of everyday New Yorkers, flip flopping on his testimony to the Legislature in February when he claimed: "I support cryptocurrency, not crypto mining." It's frankly shameful to see the Mayor of the largest city in the country so nakedly in thrall to crypto cash in the middle of a climate crisis. Our message to the Governor remains: lead with integrity, not like the Mayor of New York City who's clearly flip flopping on his previous opposition to cryptomining because some extremely rich people told him to. We live and breath the climate killing effects of 24/7 cryptomining in the Finger Lakes, where our $3 billion, 60,000 job agritourism industry is under very real threat from a fake currency. The Legislature listened to the will of the people, and now it's your turn: sign the cryptomining moratorium bill now!"

Grassroots environmental advocates - with a strong coalition of elected officials, small business owners, and winemakers - successfully beat back millions of dollars in lobbying that the crypto industry spent to kill the cryptomining moratorium bill. In recent weeks, opposition was fueled by the Koch Brothers'-funded Club for Growth, a group that funds anti-gay, anti-abortion, far right candidates. The Club spent $30,000 to spread lies fighting the bill.

Additionally, Governor Hochul reported a $40,000 campaign donation from Ashton Soniat, Chairman & CEO of Coinmint, which operates one of the world's largest cryptomining facilities in Massena, NY. She also reported $78,000 in donations from Albany lobbying firm Ostroff Associates and its partners, which count crypto miner Blockfusion as a client. The New York Times reported that the day after the donation was made, Governor Hochul "spoke optimistically about the potential job creation bonanza" in Massena during a breakfast with legislators. The day after the moratorium bill passed the NYS Legislature, Protect Our Future PAC, funded by cryptocurrency interests, allotted $1 million toward NYS 2022 elections and gave $66,000 to Hochul's Lieutenant Governor candidate Antonio Delgado.

Recently, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander sent a letter to Albany leadership urging passage of the cryptomining moratorium because of the negative effects cryptomining has on New York City. Lander wrote, "The Comptroller's Office manages New York City's budget and allocates financial support to the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act ("CLCPA") by advancing the transition to a green economy, investing climate solutions that create long-term opportunities, and reducing the contributions our investments make to climate change. Thus, we take the position that passing this legislation is necessary to protect New York City."

Lander also wrote, "An increase in energy demand, at a time when fossil fueled power plants need to start operating less, will undoubtedly lead to a strain on New York's generation resources. When this occurs, peaking units will be forced to come online around New York City to meet the city's demand needs. As the PEAK Coalition's report shows, most peaker plants around New York City are cited in environmental justice communities. In order for us to meet our goals, more clean, renewable energy is needed downstate to minimize the use of peaking plants in New York City. However, the increased energy demand from cryptocurrency mining could do the exact opposite-by increasing our energy demand, it will result in downstate peakers being relied upon more and more. Our office seeks to avert the worst impacts of the climate crises, especially for the frontline environmental justice communities. We must act to protect our environmental justice communities from further burdens."

Background

The legislation will establish a two-year moratorium on new and renewed permits for proof-of-work cryptomining operations housed at fossil fuel-burning power plants. The bill will also require the Department of Environmental Conservation to perform a full environmental impact assessment in a year's time on cryptomining operations and how they affect New York's ability to meet the climate goals mandated in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

This legislation will not affect permit applications that have already been submitted or cryptomining plants that are already operating, of which there are many in New York. After being banned in China, outside speculators are flocking to New York to take advantage of a complete lack of regulations. New York now hosts 20% of the country's proof-of-work cryptomining - the most of any state, despite the economic risks associated with cryptomining and cryptocurrency, as advocacy groups Strong Economy for All and Action Center and Race and Economy suggest.

The test case for cryptomining in New York is Greenidge Generation.

Located on the shores of Seneca Lake, Greenidge operates over 17,000 Bitcoin mining machines and is expanding to over 32,500, with visible smokestacks pumping dirty fossil fuels into the air 24/7. This will lead to over 1 million tons of CO2 emissions each year, equal to that of 100,000 homes. Greenidge also sucks up to 139 million gallons of water each day from Seneca Lake and dumps it back in at up to 108 degrees. Gregory Boyer, director of SUNY's Great Lakes Research Consortium, has warned about Greenidge's potential to cause harmful algal blooms, which can be dangerous or fatal to humans and other animals in Seneca Lake, and make this water source for 100,000 people non-potable.

Greenidge's air permits are up for renewal by Governor Hochul and the DEC, who have given themselves five additional months to make a decision. The new deadline is June 30, two days after the gubernatorial primary. The DEC has consistently cited the need to sift through 4,000 public comments as part of the reason for this delay, but researchers from Cornell University FOILed for the comments, and found that 98% of the comments are opposed to Greenidge. In addition, more than 1,000 local businesses, organizations, winermakers, labor unions, and more have taken action against Greenidge because of the threats its air, water, and noise pollution pose to the local $3 billion, 60,000-employee agritourism economy.

Advocates warn that a renewal of Greenidge's air permits would signal to more outside speculators that New York is welcoming gas guzzling Bitcoin mining threats to local businesses and cancers on communities.

The DEC has already confirmed that Greenidge is a threat to New York's energy goals as outlined in the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. In a recent story, "DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos told WSKG that he continues to have "significant concerns" whether Greenidge Generation's operations will be compliant with the state's statutory climate goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or CLCPA." Seggos later said, "Our belief still stands that this is a facility that's going to have an uphill battle complying with the law."

And at a recent Environmental Conservation budget hearing when asked about the potential impact of the escalating cryptocurrency mining activity in upstate NY on the states energy grid, the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President Doreen Harris stated, "There could be a very significant impact on NY load resulting from cryptocurrency mining depending on the penetration of the resource."

Proof-of-work cryptocurrency is an extremely 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 to run cooling technology. Globally, proof-of-work Bitcoin mining uses the same amount of energy each day as the entire country of Argentina. It produces 30,700 metric tons of e-waste each year, comparable to the yearly IT equipment waste of the Netherlands.

More than 1,000 organizations, businesses, environmental activists, concerned residents, wine makers, elected officials, and more have taken action over the last year in opposition to Greenidge and crypto mining in New York State. A letter sent to Governor Hochul in October was signed by more than 650 individuals and groups. In letters to Governor Cuomo last year opposing Greenidge Generation's expansion from an emergency peaker plant to a 24/7 Bitcoin mining operation, organizations, businesses, and Finger Lakes residents demanded Gov. Cuomo revoke Greenidge's grandfathered-in permits. And recently, several groups sent an open letter to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer urging them to visit the Finger Lakes and meet the residents and business owners whose livelihoods are suffering the environmental and economic consequences of Greenidge.

Advocates are also calling on Governor Hochul to put a moratorium on cryptomining through executive action. The Governor is well within her legal authority to act, according to a new white paper from Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: A Pause on Proof-Of-Work: The New York State Executive Branch's Authority to Enact a Moratorium on the Permitting of Consolidated Proof of Work Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities. The paper (summary of findings available here) draws on precedent established in 2010 when the executive branch signed the fracking moratorium. It finds the Governor has authority to stop new proof-of-work cryptomining operations by enacting a moratorium on the permitting of these facilities until a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to determine the full extent of the impacts of mining on communities is complete.

Cryptomining is at odds with the overwhelmingly popular amendment to the New York state constitution passed last year, which guarantees every New Yorker the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment. Revitalizing old polluting power plants for private financial gain, with drastic consequences for our air, water and climate, all while causing huge amounts of noise pollution, is now unconstitutional - and ought to be treated as such.

Reform groups Common Cause/NY and NYPIRG have specifically criticized the crypto mining industry for exploiting public resources and straining the energy grid for private gain, and a group of federal lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren requested details from six major Bitcoin mining companies about their electricity usage and contributions to climate change. The NY League of Conservation voters sent a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to pause and regulate cryptomining, and 1199 SEIU recently announced their endorsement of a cryptomining moratorium. Earlier this year, President Biden issued an executive order requiring federal agencies study the legal, economic, and environmental impacts of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin mining.

About Seneca Lake Guardian

Seneca Lake Guardian is a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) and is dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural community character, and its agricultural and tourist related businesses through public education, citizen participation, engagement with decision makers, and networking with like-minded organizations.