Carbon County residents speak out on Bitcoin mining plant applying for permit to burn tire rubber for energy at DEP hearing

A Carbon County company that once mined coal is now digitally digging for Bitcoin. But those against it say the massive amounts of energy required to do so are even worse for the environment than coal mining.

People who live near the plant joined with environmental activists inside Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School Monday night and spoke out against it.

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“Tire shreds are dirty or smellier and even more polluting than waste coal,” Linda Christman, president of nonprofit, Save Carbon County, said during a Zoom conference last Thursday. The people of Carbon County joined advocates like Christman in urging the DEP to entirely reject Panther Creek’s request.

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At first glance it could sound like an environmentally-friendly option: Panther Creek Power Plant once profited off mining coal. Now, the owners, operating with the new name Strongold Digital Mining, want to digitally mine instead, for crypto currency.

But environmental groups say the company would not be without a carbon footprint by any means.

It’s applying to the DEP for a permit to be able to burn tires for energy under its LLC, Panther Creek Power Operating.

Environmental groups say even though digital mining requires computers, the power needed to operate them is massive.

“In order to produce Bitcoin banks of high-speed computers run 24/7, requiring a huge amount of power,” Christman said.

The company wants to burn tire-derived fuel up to 15 percent by weight on a monthly basis.

“Which will increase carcinogenic air pollution in the Pocono region, while providing minimal public benefit,” Russell Zerbo, an advocate with Clean Air Council, said. “Burning tire derived fuels produces dioxins, ethylene benzene, and other known cancer-causing agents.”

The DEP tells 69 News that the composition of shredded tires would mix with coal or wood to create another type of fuel.

Panther Creek, in its application, justifies tired-derive fuel by referring to a 1991 study, where the EPA determined: “In many cases, the quality of the emissions actually improves with increased use of tires or TDF as supplemental fuel.”

But those against it say the studies are dated and limited.

“The data that does exist out there does not have perfect overlap with the particular details of this plant,” Emma Bast, Staff Attorney with PennFuture, said. “Like a lot of release of heavy metal, fine particulates…and other pollutants that are not captured in some of DEP’s traditional analysis.”

Those against the plant say many of the company’s seven DEP violations come after it turned digital in 2021. The DEP says it will take those violations into consideration, though it would not comment about whether it’s planning on approving the permit. The DEP tells 69 News it wants to hear all the public comments first.

In addition to Monday night’s meeting, people have until Dec. 28 to submit those comments.

69 News tried reaching out to Panther Creek several times, including trying the phone number and email address listed on its application. Both those contact points bounced back.