Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Vitality has quietly vacated a pure gas-powered crypto mining website in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly forsaking unplugged wells and regulatory violations.
The location, often called Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for almost a decade when Diversified started utilizing it to gas on-site mills powering cryptocurrency mining computer systems, in response to a report by the Erie Occasions-Information.
Per the report, the operation was launched with out acquiring an air high quality allow from the Pennsylvania Division of Environmental Safety (DEP).
Although the corporate was later granted the allow in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already eliminated the mining infrastructure.
Empty metallic sheds and lacking manufacturing tools led the DEP to difficulty a proper violation discover for nicely abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the positioning was deserted, stating it could resume gasoline manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the DEP and environmental advocates say the corporate has failed to fulfill its obligations. Beneath a 2021 settlement, Diversified had dedicated to plugging Longhorn A and 13 different wells on the finish of their operational life, an obligation it has reportedly not fulfilled.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Diversified for remark.
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Diversified below scrutiny over enterprise mannequin
Environmentalists have lengthy raised considerations about Diversified’s enterprise mannequin, which entails buying ageing, low-producing wells and extracting remaining worth with out ample plans for decommissioning.
Plugging a single nicely can value over $100,000, and Pennsylvania already has over 350,000 orphaned and deserted wells, making the stakes significantly excessive.
A 2022 report labeled the corporate’s strategy a “enterprise mannequin constructed to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers may very well be left footing the invoice for 1000’s of unplugged wells.
Diversified just lately agreed to plug 3,000 wells by 2034 in a separate authorized settlement however continues to face regulatory scrutiny, together with a probe by the US Home Committee on Vitality and Commerce.
Horton Township officers, the place the Longhorn website is positioned, say they’ve obtained no updates from the corporate.
Native supervisor PJ Piccirillo informed the Erie Occasions-Information that mills and tanks have been eliminated with out discover. “All we all know is that the property appears to have been deserted,” he mentioned.
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US cities confront crypto mining
On April 25, the planning fee of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to ascertain a cryptocurrency mining facility inside the metropolis limits, following sturdy opposition from residents.
In January, Arkansas lawmakers launched a invoice that may ban crypto mining operations inside 30 miles of any US army facility within the state.
The opposition to crypto-mining facilities in Arkansas follows a broader pattern throughout varied US municipalities the place crypto-mining initiatives have confronted rising scrutiny.
In October 2024, a gaggle of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit towards Marathon Digital, alleging that its mining facility generated an excessive amount of noise.
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