North Tonawanda implements 2-year ban on crypto mining establishments

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The North Tonawanda Common Council voted to approve a two-year moratorium on all crypto mining developments in the city, which passed unanimously on Tuesday.

The moratorium, proposed by Mayor Austin Tylec, implements a two-year pause on any new crypto mining plants and the expansion of existing ones in North Tonawanda.

Tylec said the goal for the next two years is to update the city's zoning codes and ordinances to address high noise levels.

"It's two branches of local government on the same page, which is always a good thing," Tylec said. "There might've been some back and forth, but we're here to work for the people and I think this was the right step forward."

Tylec said he has been working in collaboration with Alderman Frank Dibernardo, two North Tonawanda residents and a representative of Digihost while noise measurements are conducted through a third party. Les Blomberg is the outside expert conducting the readings around the Digihost facility. The measurements began last Thursday.

Jack Kanack, a North Tonawanda resident for over 60 years, shadowed Blomberg during the readings. According to Kanack, the city hired Blomberg to conduct the measurements for $10,000. The results will ultimately determine if the facility is violating any existing noise ordinance.

"He took four measurements, a half an hour of data logging," Kanack said. "He's now going to take the recordings, go and take out the planes and the cars just to get a baseline of what the noise is in the city. Then when the plant is up and running, we are going to take measurements of the plant going full speed."

Several residents have been advocating against Digihost since 2021. They said the moratorium passing is a big win and they hope North Tonawanda's research over the next two years can serve as a model for other towns who might consider similar projects.

"As we've learned the hard way, it's really hard to rein this in once the project has been approved, if you don't know what you're approving," said Deborah Gondek, chair of the North Tonawanda Climate Smart Task Force. "So we are really happy."

While the moratorium won't necessarily fix the current noise problem for the plant on Erie Avenue, residents said it's a step in the right direction.

"This is something that we really needed to go through," said Mark Polito, a North Tonawanda resident. "I'm very pleased that the council finally did the right thing."

Residents said they are still going to fight against the plant that's currently running in North Tonawanda. They plan on pushing on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to cancel Digihosts' permit and have them stop doing business.