On the final day of DEC public comment for Greenidge Generation’s Title V Air Permit extension, over 5,000 comments were presented in opposition.
Citizens, business owners, and elected officials convened in the Finger Lakes and Albany to urge the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to deny the Title V Air Permit for the proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining facility, Greenidge Generation, and call upon Governor Hochul to place a statewide moratorium on this form of cryptocurrency mining until an environmental review can be conducted.
The concurrent press conferences coincided on the same day as the DEC deadline for public comment on the Greenidge facility’s draft Title V air permit. In Albany, leaders announced that over 5,000 public comments were submitted in opposition to the facility, showcasing the immense concern around the environmental threats of proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining at Greenidge. In Geneva, a letter presented to the DEC and Governor Hochul and signed by nearly 500 members of the Finger Lakes Wine Business Coalition and the Seneca Lake Guardian Business Coalition, expressed how this single facility could damage the wine-making industry, local businesses, and tourism in the Finger Lakes.
The Greenidge facility serves as a test case for the roughly 30 other dormant power plants across New York that could be converted for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining. If left unregulated, the industry will wreak irrevocable harm on not only the Finger Lakes region, but the entire state of New York, severely hindering the ability to reach New York’s ambitious climate goals as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The Geneva event featured speakers like local environmental leader Joseph Campbell of Seneca Lake Guardian, Paul Kronenwetter of the Environmental Affairs Committee Seneca County Board of Supervisors, as well as Finger Lakes winemakers and industry leaders like Michael Warren Thomas of Savor Life, Phil Davis of Damiani Wine Cellars, Kees Stapel of Boundary Breaks Vineyard, in addition to elected officials such as Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles, Geneva City Councilman Ken Camera, and many more. The Albany event featured Liz Moran of Earthjustice, Russ Haven of NYPIRG, Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch, and several State-elected officials.
Both events stressed the urgent need for Governor Hochul and her administration to deny Greenidge’s Title V Air Permit and issue a moratorium to study the environmental impacts of proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining on air, water, and the climate.
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