Karen Elias

Lock Haven

On July 15th, Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University hosted a Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit which, behind all its star-powered hype, was essentially a branding exercise. Pennsylvania, apparently tired of being Energy Producer Number Two, is now positioning itself to “dominate” in the field of data center construction, eager to use the over $90 billion it has been promised, for construction of the computers needed to operate AI and crypto-mining operations — as well as the dirty energy facilities it will take to run them.

Because our rural areas can provide the acreage, the water, and the fracked gas that these facilities require, many of these operations are being proposed for our own communities.

Here’s a case in point.

Recently a crypto-mining company called Kratos was issued an air permit by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to locate a crypto operation in West Keating Township (Clinton County). Once an air permit is issued, a company is allowed to begin construction. In this case, however, there are many questions that still remain unanswered having to do with community notification, water and electricity use, and environmental and human health impacts. These questions need to be addressed.

According to its permit application, the company claims to have notified the community of its intentions by way of certified mailings, but close inspection of that application reveals that only two certified mailings went out — one to the Clinton County Commissioners, and the other to the West Keating Township office. The residents who will be directly impacted by the facility were not notified, either informally or by way of community meetings. One resident, who was contacted by a friend about these plans, says he knows nothing about them.

The DEP’s Environmental Justice Policy emphasizes the importance of community involvement (for example, through public comment periods) in the development and enforcement of environmental policies. This ensures that residents are meaningfully involved in decision-making processes that affect their health and their environment. Such community involvement has not happened.

The Kratos application also states that only one person will be employed at the center. It seems, then, that if the community is actually due to receive any benefits from this facility, new jobs are not among them. In fact, this operation will have several negative consequences. In addition to locating a sprawling, unsightly construction in a peaceful rural setting, the operation — running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — will generate constant noise, at levels that residents located near other crypto facilities have described as close to “torture.” Because an environmental impact study has not been done, it is not clear what effects these noise levels might have either on human health or on the well-being of resident wildlife.

Crypto operations require massive amounts of water to cool their computers; some estimate that a swimming-pool’s worth is used every time a transaction is made. It is not clear, in the case of Kratos, where that water will be sourced. These mining processes also generate lots of wastewater containing various contaminants, including heavy metals, chemicals, and organic compounds. In response to the question, “Will this project involve discharge of wastewater to surface water, ground water or an existing sanitary sewer system?” the company responded No. It is not clear whether wastewater will be treated before being discharged, how that wastewater will be disposed, or where it will be discharged. It is also not clear whether the company has obtained the necessary permits for such discharges. At a time when communities across the country are experiencing water scarcity, what impacts will this crypto-mining operation have on West Keating’s water supply?

Only a small minority of bitcoin operations are powered by renewables. Kratos is no exception. The company plans to power this facility with fracked gas from Frontier Resources’ Winner 4H wellpad. Of the 230 violations that Frontier has accumulated, the Winner wellpad alone has accumulated 69 since its first violation in 2017. This means that 30% of Frontier’s violations occurred at the well site that Kratos is planning to use.

We have to ask, given the clear disadvantages of this operation, whether any ostensible benefits actually outweigh these disadvantages. In fact, with no public meetings, no environmental reviews, and no discussions about this project with local residents, it seems that decisions to green-light the project have been made behind closed doors, and that this crypto operation is being imposed on a community without either its knowledge or its permission.

Many believe that the mining of crypto currencies is actually designed to serve the privileged few and thus, lacks a legitimate purpose. It becomes even more difficult, then, to justify its intolerable environmental footprint. Each bitcoin transition consumes more than $100 worth of electricity, and the industry generates as much carbon dioxide over a 30-month period as do one million cars. Given these realities, crypto-mining alone could push global warming above accepted limits and over the two-degree mark within 30 years.

It’s difficult to think of any benefits this operation will bring to either the community or the planet. We’ve experienced the effects of earlier Pennsylvania “gold” rushes, as our old-growth trees were demolished and as mine acids polluted our streams. Acid mine drainage continues to be listed as the major source of pollution in the state, with one third of our streams and 60 percent of our lakes considered impaired. The rush to frack, initially proposed as a “bridge” to renewables, is likewise proving to be a false promise, as concerns over damage to human health and the environment have grown, and manufacturing jobs have declined.

The rush to mine data is Pennsylvania’s latest shiny thing. Are we going to allow ourselves to be mesmerized yet one more time?