North Tonawanda Takes Crypto Miner DigiPower X to Court Over Years of Noise Violations, Citing New Evidence

NORTH TONAWANDA, NY – After years of community complaints and lacking the necessary enforcement tools, North Tonawanda officials are escalating their multi-year battle against local cryptocurrency mining company DigiPower X, taking the firm to court over alleged violations of the city's noise ordinance. The city now claims to possess equipment that proves the company's operations exceed legal noise limits.

DigiPower X, formerly known as Digihost, has been issued multiple citations for exceeding the 50-decibel nighttime limit on three separate occasions in July, according to Mayor Austin Tylec.

“This has been a long time coming,” Tylec told The Buffalo News. “I don’t think this will completely resolve the matter, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Since 2022, DigiPower X has utilized the Fortistar gas power plant off Erie Avenue to power its cryptocurrency mining operations. The company's computers, housed in shipping-container-like buildings, operate 24/7 and rely on powerful cooling fans that generate a persistent, loud humming noise that residents report reverberates throughout the community.

Despite complaints from residents spanning the past three years, the citations issued this month mark the first time the city has pursued legal action to address the noise. Daniel Rotunno, DigiPower X’s vice president of operations, received the citations and is slated to appear in city court on August 12. DigiPower X has not responded to requests for comment.

Previously, North Tonawanda lacked the proper equipment and trained personnel to enforce its noise ordinance effectively. Following significant community outcry and a June 2024 article from The Buffalo News detailing the health impacts of noise pollution, the city invested in new noise monitoring equipment and trained its police officers with the help of an outside expert.

The city is also actively working to strengthen its noise ordinance, particularly by increasing penalties for violations. Mayor Tylec expressed hope that the updated ordinance could be in place within the next month. Currently, the fine for violating the noise ordinance stands at a mere $250 per day, a sum residents like Kevin O’Connor, who lives near the facility, dismiss as "chump change."

"Under the current ordinance, there’s no enforcement, no accountability,” O’Connor stated, echoing sentiments from many neighbors whose lives have been significantly impacted by the constant noise. Residents report disrupted sleep, changes in their pets' behavior, and a perpetual feeling of being on edge. The pervasive noise affects those living directly adjacent to the plant and those up to two miles away.

Health experts have warned that chronic noise pollution can lead to serious health issues, including anxiety, depression, a compromised immune response, cardiovascular-related mortality, hypertension, and strokes. The city's noise ordinance is intended to protect the "public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare, prosperity, and the peace and quiet" of its residents.

“The sooner the city gets this reined in, the better,” urged Deb Gondek, a North Tonawanda resident who has been a vocal opponent of the DigiPower X operation since its inception.

The court hearing for the noise violations comes as DigiPower X faces another significant legal challenge regarding its ownership of the Fortistar gas power plant. The Public Service Commission (PSC) had initially approved DigiPower X's petition to purchase the 55-megawatt plant in September 2022. However, since then, the plant's greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed due to continuous operation for cryptocurrency mining.

In January 2023, the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and the Sierra Club filed a petition with the state Supreme Court to overturn the PSC's initial approval, arguing that the PSC failed to consider the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

State Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin sided with the environmental groups in his November decision, mandating that the PSC reconsider DigiPower X's application while explicitly accounting for the state’s emissions reduction goals.

Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reveals that since September 2022, the Fortistar plant has emitted 280,237 tons of carbon dioxide. In 2024 alone, it produced nearly 141,000 tons of CO2, more than three times the plant's combined output for all of 2020, 2021, and 2022, when it primarily operated as a "peaker plant," only turning on during energy shortages.

Should the PSC determine that DigiPower X's ownership of Fortistar is inconsistent with state greenhouse gas emission limits, it must either revoke its approval or justify the inconsistencies and identify mitigation measures to allow the plant to continue operations, according to the judge's ruling. Both the noise violation case and the PSC reconsideration highlight the growing challenges and environmental concerns associated with large-scale cryptocurrency mining operations.