News
The state has asked to regulate cryptocurrency mining noise in North Tonawanda
Fed up with the noise coming from a nearby cryptocurrency mining facility, North Tonawanda residents are turning to the state Department of Environmental Conservation in an effort to restore their neighborhood to its former tranquility.
Noise from the Digihost facility has been polluting the North Tonawanda community for more than two years. Since then, residents have said the city has done little, despite countless complaints, to enforce the noise ordinance against Digihost and provide relief to those who live near the facility.
They and climate activists at a news conference Thursday morning called on the DEC to deny renewing the air permit for the Digihost facility on Erie Avenue.
Digihost, a Canadian blockchain technology company that mines cryptocurrency, made its presence known in North Tonawanda in early 2022 when it began operating a plant previously owned by Fortistar, which used it to burn natural gas.
The facility’s air permit expired in November 2021.
After initially expressing concern about the arrival of the mining operation, residents say they are dealing with loud noise emitted by the facility as it runs large fans to cool the supercomputers used to mine bitcoin.
People read too…
“If you think we are frustrated, imagine how residents who live up to a mile from this Digihost facility feel about the noise pollution that has disrupted their lives for more than two years,” Deborah Gondek said to residents and members of the press.
Deborah Gondek speaks to the media about noise from a cryptocurrency mining operation.
Vince Gasparini/Buffalo News
Gondek is a member of North Tonawanda’s Climate Smart Task Force, a group that works to “address the impacts of climate change through education, community building and measurable actions,” according to his report. mission statement. He stressed that noise pollution from the facility is as much a health problem as a nuisance, as constant exposure to high decibel noise increases the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attack, as well as being harmful to mental health. . .
City officials were unable to force Digihost to quiet down due to a lack of adequate equipment and training to enforce the noise ordinance. The Buffalo News reports it that certified sound level meters cost between $250 and $500, a calibrator needed to ensure the equipment functions properly costs another $500, and training to use the equipment could cost around $5,000 for eight to nine officers.
Gondek said denying Digihost a renewal of its air permit would align with DEC’s past actions, referencing the denial of a 2022 renewal to Dresden-based Greenidge Generation due to environmental concerns related to the company’s cryptocurrency mining operation near the Seneca Lake.
“With this precedent in place, we expect the DEC to be consistent and deny the air permit renewal for Digihost as soon as possible,” he said.
Many communities across New York have not yet adopted the regulations and zoning codes needed to handle bitcoin mining, including North Tonawanda. Because of this, Gondek said she and Mayor Austin Tylec have drafted a two-year cryptocurrency moratorium for the city, which the Common Council will consider during a public hearing next month.
Mark Polito, who moved to North Tonawanda in 2018 and lives about a mile from the Digihost plant, said the sound coming from the plant is constant and that it “sounds a lot like a jet taxiing to a gate.”
“At night, when most people are trying to sleep, it gets very loud,” Polito said. “During the day the noise is loud enough to keep me away from the yard. I never see my neighbors in their yards either.
Polito said the noise also seeps through the walls of her home, into the living room, bedroom and bathroom, and often causes distress to her pets.
“It’s unlike anything my neighbors and I have heard from any other plant in the area in the 38 years I’ve been there,” said Kevin O’Connor, who said he lives just 900 feet from the plant. “It’s bad, it’s constant and it’s aggravating. I have to talk about it at my house.
Numerous residents have also expressed concerns about noise that could cause a decline in the value of their properties and the harmful environmental impacts of the high levels of energy used in mining operations. Bridge Rauch, an environmental justice organizer for the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, said DEC needs to step up its efforts to reduce emissions by increasing inspection efforts at facilities like the one operated by Digihost.
Homes on Fairmont Avenue in North Tonawanda. City residents have asked the state to help regulate noise from nearby Digihost.
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
“It is used for an industry that is not productive and does not contribute to the local economy,” Rauch said of the plant.
“We strongly encourage every member of the Common Council to make things right this time,” Gondek said. “Two years is too long for residents to have to bear the brunt of bad decisions made in the past by the North Tonawanda Planning Commission, Common Council and other city officials.”
Get local news delivered straight to your inbox!
Sign up for our Daily Headlines newsletter.