Various organizations have registered a lawsuit against the U.S. Town of Torrey, New York, for supporting a proposal to expand a Bitcoin mining facility near one of the Finger Lakes. According to the court documents filed, Seneca Lake Guardian, the Sierra Club, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes and more than 20 inmates led the lawsuit. They claim that the local government infringed laws by allowing Greenidge’s site plan to expand its current Bitcoin mining facility.
However, officials said that such activities would not lead to infringing any laws; plaintiffs state otherwise. Greenidge, the mining plant, directed the Town of Torrey to develop bitcoin mining facilities early in 2020. It will construct four new warehouses that will host cooling and computing devices.
Nevertheless, the Article 78 petition states that local officials breached the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
Reasons behind organizations filing the lawsuit
Further, the lawsuit elucidates charges that Greenidge evaded laws that demand an Environmental Impact Statement. It did so by requesting regulatory approval via two individuals but interdependent approval applications. The New York residents who filed the lawsuit have different reasons for registering with the Sierra Club. The reasons range from potential noise complaints to consideration that the mining facility would pollute the lake water, negatively influencing the wildlife and recreational pursuits.
The Greenidge power plant in Dresden utilizes a pipeline to bring natural gas to the plant. Therefore, producing the power used by its Bitcoin mining facility resulting in lowering costs. According to Fingerlakes1, the appeal also claimed that the planning board did not think about exerting a “hard look” at the demand for supplementary water to cool the generating station. Moreover, it demands to secrete super-heated water into Seneca Lake.
Greenidge filed an application with local authorities. They appealed to build and run four new buildings with Bitcoin mining equipment. This extension to the facility would enable Greenidge to work at complete capacity, full time. In October, at a town board meeting, the company said the Bitcoin mining facility would continue firmly keeping in view the environmental limits established by the federal and state governments.
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