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, referred to as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for practically a decade when Diversified started utilizing it to gas on-site mills powering cryptocurrency mining computer systems, in line with 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 gear led the DEP to challenge a proper violation discover for effectively abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the location was deserted, stating it could resume fuel manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the DEP and environmental advocates say the corporate has failed to fulfill its obligations. Underneath 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 beneath scrutiny over enterprise mannequin
Environmentalists have lengthy raised considerations about Diversified’s enterprise mannequin, which entails buying growing older, low-producing wells and extracting remaining worth with out ample plans for decommissioning.
Plugging a single effectively 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 method a “enterprise mannequin constructed to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers may very well be left footing the invoice for hundreds of unplugged wells.
Diversified not too long ago 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 situated, say they’ve obtained no updates from the corporate.
Native supervisor PJ Piccirillo informed the Erie Occasions-Information that mills and tanks had been eliminated with out discover. “All we all know is that the property appears to have been deserted,” he stated.
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US cities confront crypto mining
On April 25, the planning fee of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to determine a cryptocurrency mining facility inside the metropolis limits, following robust 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 numerous US municipalities the place crypto-mining initiatives have confronted growing scrutiny.
In October 2024, a bunch of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit in opposition to Marathon Digital, alleging that its mining facility generated an excessive amount of noise.
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