Community members and a grassroots organization held a fundraiser to appeal a cryptocurrency company’s request for tire-burning permit.
That appeal is in addition to Save Carbon County’s legal fight against Stronghold Digital Mining and Governor Josh Shapiro on allegations of environmental pollution and claiming tax credits, according to the lawsuit filed on March 26.
Stronghold Digital Mining and its subsidiary, Panther Creek Electric Generating Facility, burn waste coal to generate electricity for cryptocurrency mining. They applied to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a permit to use tire-derived fuel (TDF) to supplement 15 percent of their monthly electricity use by weight.
Linda Christman, Save Carbon’s president, explained why her organization plans to appeal the permit in a separate legal action.
“If we win the lawsuit, the company will have to do a lot of things to clean up their act. And if they get the tire-burning permit, it will be revoked…But that’s probably two years away [from now,]” said Christman.
Christman and Save Carbon’s lawyers at Freiwald Law say the lawsuit can be resolved in two years, but they fear the DEP will approve the TDF permit beforehand. A successful appeal would limit environmental harm, according to Christman.
The DEP also is a defendant in the March 26 lawsuit. Christman said Save Carbon sued them for a history of not protecting Carbon County and the Coal Region at large.
“The day they put a tire-burning plant in Lancaster County or Berks – a county that’s not seen as ruined, that’s when I’ll think they are being fair. I don’t think they are fair to the Coal Region,” said Christman.
Ben Price has fought for the environment since 2003 with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). He’s also a Carbon County resident, so the fight against Stronghold is close to his heart. He said community organizations have to push back against the DEP and the laws that regulate it.
Save Carbon member Brandon Fogal hopes residents will take action before it’s too late.
“The Coal Region needs to kind of band together and protect themselves because a lot of the Coal Region is very poor. Like, when the coal industry disappeared, people became disadvantaged, areas become desperate, and that’s just a breeding ground for corporate overreach,” said Fogal.
Fogal’s also a business owner. He co-owns Pocono Whitewater, Skirmish USA, and Pocono Biking. He worries Stronghold pollutes the Lehigh River, which is listed as one of the nation’s most endangered rivers, according to waterway advocacy group American Rivers.
“Honestly, our business depends on that. If the Lehigh River were to get a bad reputation for that kind of thing, that would be extremely harmful to us,” said Fogal. “The recreation industry in this area is no joke. It’s one of the largest employers in the area, it brings billions of dollars to the area. It’s really important to local wellbeing, so to sacrifice it for a Bitcoin mining operation doesn’t make sense.”
Save Carbon County and its lawyers are working to get documents that detail any pollution created by Stronghold and its subsidiaries, where Stronghold deposits ash created by its power plants and revenue information, according to Linda Christman.
The fundraiser made nearly $2,000. Christman said the goal was half that amount. She estimates that appealing Stronghold and Panther Creek’s pending TDF permit will cost $4,000. Save Carbon County plans to hold future fundraising events.
Stronghold CEO Greg Beard previously responded to the lawsuit and defended his company's use of environmental tax credits. He said Stronghold holds itself "to some of the highest standards within the industry" at the Panther Creek facility.
