State accepts comments on Greenidge intake work

YATES COUNTY--The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a list of completed applications for region eight, Wednesday, Aug. 17. Included in the list of projects were two permits applied for by Greenidge Generation, the power plant and recent Bitcoin mining operation on Seneca Lake. Despite actively appealing New York state's decision to deny a Title V air permit renewal earlier this year, these permits would allow for work to be done on the plant's lake water intake structure. The permits include: Article 15 Title 5 Excavation and Fill in Navigable Waters and Section 401 - Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification.
"Our application to allow Greenidge to finalize the installation of additional protections, including wedgewire screens, was submitted on time in March and the NYSDEC is currently processing that application," Greenidge Generation said in a statement to The Observer. "We are awaiting final state and federal approvals, which is a required step to complete this work."
The DEC project page (www.dec.ny.gov/enb/20220817_reg8.html) describes the work as:
"The applicant, Greenidge Generation LLC, proposes to install cylindrical wedge wire intake screens (CWWS) at the facility's existing cooling water intake structure. The installation of the CWSS is a requirement of the facility's State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit. The facility's SPDES permit was modified in 2017 to include the CWWS as part of the department's review of the facility's cooling water intake pursuant to Section 361b of the Clean Water Act and 6 New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) Part 704.5. The 0.5 mm slot width CWSS was determined to be the "best technology available" (BTA) to minimize entrainment and impingement of aquatic resources. The existing cooling water intake that extends above water approximately 730 feet from the shoreline into Seneca Lake. The modified structure will consist of an intake box and six intake screens. The installation will include the removal of the steel walls of the existing intake structure to be replaced with precast concrete. The excavation area required for the replacement of the intake walls and installation of the CWSS will be approximately 82' X 95' and requires the hydraulic dredging of approximately 1,100 cubic yards of material. Approximately 200 cubic yards of coarse limestone will be placed around the intake box to stabilize the dredged area. The dredged material will be dewatered in an upland area utilizing a filter bag within an enclosed bermed area of approximately 15,000 square feet. In addition, wooden pilings supporting the wooden trestle that holds the 7-foot diameter cooling water intake pipe will be replaced with steel pilings."
According to the DEC, the project is an unlisted action "and will not have a significant impact on the environment."
Greenidge is currently operating with two permits related to lake water that are set to expire at the end of September. They were both originally issued in 2017. The water withdrawal permit, "authorizes the facility to withdraw 139,248,000 gallons per day from Seneca Lake for processes associated with power production." The SPDES permit authorizes the discharge of up to 134 million gallons per day of cooling and other water. Most of the water reaches Seneca Lake after being released into the Keuka Outlet. The state notes the SPDES permit requires minimizing impacts to aquatic organisms.
The proposed work on Greenidge's intake is able to be commented on by the public until Thursday, Sept. 1. The DEC contact is Daniel T Whitehead, NYS DEC Headquarters, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233, 518-402-9167, DEPPermitting@dec.ny.gov.