In 2021, Digihost's CEO and NT's Common Council President promised residents that the proposed bitcoin mining facility would generate no noise.

Once Dighost began operating in February 2022, residents notified city officials about high noise levels from fans cooling the computers housed outdoors in stacked shipping containers. In March 2022, Judge Sedita told Digihost and their attorneys to resolve the noise issues at the Erie Road facility and to do so quickly. It's been more than two years with no solution in sight. Digihost's high noise levels continue to disrupt sleep, disturb pets and wildlife, and interfere with people enjoying their homes and outdoor areas. Homeowners are also worried about the negative impact on property values.

Concerned residents have done extensive research and reached out to other communities in Niagara County, NYS, and across the country to more thoroughly understand how others have addressed similar issues with bitcoin mining. We will present the following short-term and long-term recommendations to the Common Council on Tuesday, May 14:

1) Develop and implement a process for measuring & documenting noise levels.
A formal plan is needed to engage a professional and objective third-party to record noise readings at specific locations at and near the Digihost operation. These measures must include both dBA and dBC readings. These expenses should be paid by Digihost, not an additional burden to NT tax payers. The City must fine Digihost every time they exceed the noise ordinance and make these violations part of the public record. This fact-based information will give us a better sense of what’s needed to address high noise levels in the future.

2) Approve a 2-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining in the City of North Tonawanda.
This will ensure that no new mining operations can be approved, nor can existing operations expand, until the City updates zoning codes and other requirements to address noise and emissions. This also allows adequate time for NT's new Comprehensive Plan to be adopted. In addition, NYS will be completing their environmental assessment of cryptocurrency energy use, which may further restrict operations across the state.

3) Apply additional scrutiny to data processing centers and/or modular data processing facilities requesting approvals.
Data processing centers have multiple banks of computers contained in a building. Modular facilities contain the processors in multiple storage-like containers.
Both facilities require numerous fans or air conditioning systems to cool down the equipment. The noise generated by the equipment, along with the large amount of electricity used by cooling systems and computer processors, have spurred moratoriums and bans in numerous communities across the United States.

By signing this petition, I support these recommendations.