North Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - The vote on a bill in North Tonawanda that focuses on blocking the crypto-mining company Digihost from constructing a micro nuclear reactor in specific zones in the city has been pushed back by the Common Council.
The proposed bill would place restrictions on the construction and operation of new coal, natural gas, hydro, wind and nuclear energy facilities in the city.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NANO Nuclear and Digihost, filed with New York State in December, the two companies plan to advance the transition to carbon-free energy at the Digihost’s plant. The state has a goal of a zero-emission grid in its future. NANO Nuclear is developing the clean energy through microreactors in development.
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North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec says although there might be some items related to "nuclear" that has sparked the attention of residents and others, this bill is geared toward ensuring the city is not exposed to any risks with different energy innovations.
"We really are looking at, overall, all different types of alternative energy sources, developments. More or less that we don't have zoning codes in our codes width," Tylec explained with WBEN. "We're looking to, basically, hit the brakes on multiple energy types that we don't have rules, restrictions, parameters for. We did get a lot of comments from the public on Feb. 11 about our idea of hitting the brakes on nuclear energy types, wind turbines, hydro and even new gas and coal energy facilities until we can really get our hands in there and start modifying things."
During the public hearing last week Tuesday, it was comments from a former judge that resonated with the city attorney. It's now just ensuring that this bill would be a solid local law that would not be able to be challenged.
"We need to be conscious of how restrictive it is, but ultimately, our goal is to make sure we're protecting community members, our residents," Tylec said. "We have an open perspective on these different alternative energy types. It's just some of them aren't really fully regulated yet with either the state or federal level. For example, this micro nuclear is a new technology that may be five years down the line, but still, we want to take a proactive approach."
If and when this bill passes, Tylec feels it could always be revisited down the line.
"If there's something 5-10 years from now, a company wants to come in and explain why it's a safe, non-obstructive development, then whoever's elected, at that point, they could revisit the code and change it then as well," he said.
Over the last few years, North Tonawanda residents have taken up issue with the Digihost plant along Erie Avenue, more so with the crypto-mining at the facility causing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as noise pollution in the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Tylec acknowledges that the past issues with Digihost raises more attention to the matter, and no one wants to compound the problems that residents have brought up. But the ultimate goal is to look deeper into all energy types going forward.
"We've got to update our codes. Recently, we were awarded a $135,000 grant to look at our zoning codes, update them as a whole throughout the entire city. And this and many other pieces are going to be part of that discussion, and what we really need to address to make sure the city's in tip-top shape," Tylec explained.
Tylec is hopeful that a vote on the bill will come when they bring it back up on March 18. In the meantime, the city attorney has made efforts to speak to the attorney in the City of Oneonta, who has already given him some feedback on a similar bill they passed in recent years.
"They've had a nuclear free zone, more or less, law in place for many years now. Our attorney spoke to a former judge about this, and is obviously speaking to different state agencies just to get their perspective on the matter, and making sure that all the pieces are in place," Tylec said.