State issues permit for Greenidge intake work

SENECA LAKE--The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued two permits last week allowing the Greenidge Generation power plant to perform required work on the facility's intake structure in Seneca Lake. Prior to the issuance of the new permits, Greenidge held both a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit and Water Withdrawal Permit that were both set to expire on Sept. 30, 2022. The SPDES permit allows the facility to discharge up to 134 million gallons of power generation cooling water per day, while the withdrawal permit allows for up to 139 million gallons of Seneca Lake water to be used for cooling. Greenidge Generation began a process in 2020 to shift operations at the plant to include the digital mining of cryptocurrency using the power generated onsite. While the company has continually reiterated that they still supply power to the grid, the expansion of digital mining operations have also been reported in many updates to investors of the publicly traded company (GREE - NASDAQ). The authorized activity in Seneca Lake includes: "The installation of cylindrical wedge wire intake screens (CWWS) at the facility's existing cooling water intake structure, in accordance with the plans referenced in the conditions of this permit. The installation will include the removal of the steel walls of the existing intake structure to be replaced with precast concrete panels. The authorized excavation area will be approximately 82 feet [by] 95 feet and requires the hydraulic dredging of up to 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, the intake pipe's wooden structure will be repaired with the addition to steel pilings to support the existing wooden structure." The permit authorizations include Excavation & Fill in Navigable Waters - Under Article 15, Title 5 and Water Quality Certification - Under Section 401 - Clean Water Act. The state also recently announced upcoming public participation events related to the state's denial of air permits at the natural gas-powered generation plant. Legislative public comment hearings will be held virtually on Monday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. These hearings will be conducted electronically through the Webex electronic webinar platform. Following those dates, a pre-adjudicatory issues conference will be conducted online Thursday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. and may continue as necessary on Friday, Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. Information to register for the events can be found at https://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/123728.html. Greenidge has been able to continue operations while the appeal process is underway for the denial.