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County Commissioner John Gentle publicly admitted that he is lobbying State Legislators on behalf of Beijing’s Bitcoin mining operations in Usk. During the public comment period at Monday’s (March 13) Commissioners’ meeting, Gentle was asked about House Bill 1416, an extension of the State’s existing Clean Energy Transformation Act intended to close loopholes that currently allow Beijing’s Bitmain and their junior partner Allrise Capital to use electricity from high-pollution sources that other industrial customers in the State are prohibited from using. Gentle admitted that he was lobbying State Legislators on behalf of Beijing’s Bitmain and Allrise Capital to get their energy-intensive bitcoin mine in Usk exempted from the legislation. He specified that he was working with State Representative Beth Doglio (D-Olympia), the primary sponsor of the bill, to get the exemption added to the legislation. Gentle is traveling to Olympia to meet with state legislators on Thursday and Friday before a Senate committee reviews the bill this Friday. Gentle and Bitmain/Allrise’s other lobbyist Tim Zenk have been pressing State Senator Shelley Short to use her position on the Senate Committee to alter the bill. This is not the first time Gentle has used his position as County Commissioner to use his office to advance Beijing’s bitcoin mining business. Last fall, he skipped a County Commissioner meeting to lobby our PUD to agree to a new power contract for Bitmain and Allrise that would have cost residents of the county millions of dollars. Last spring, he used his position to block a proposed State-standard noise ordinance that would protect county residents from excessive crypto noise pollution that threatens local residents' quality of life—especially during warmer summer months (noise pollution enforcement is a county-level responsibility in Washington). He also used his position to block enforcement of Bitmain/Allrise’s zoning violations that were disrupting nearby neighborhoods. Gentle’s actions are particularly concerning because he had a direct financial interest in this project since the beginning of 2021 through at least February 2022 when his wife was a business partner and later employee with Messers Monty Stahl and Russ Pelleberg (currently of Merkle Standard). HB1416 Update: Senate Committee Review on Friday March 17House Bill 1416 will be considered by the State Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology in a public hearing this Friday morning at 8 am. (March 17). Our State Senator Shelley Short is a member of that committee.
To learn more about HB1416 and how it will benefit our County, read: HB1416 - PROTECT PEND OREILLE To learn more about the misinformation Bitmain’s and Allrise’s lobbyist are spreading about HB1416, read here: Zenk Letter - PROTECT PEND OREILLE Submit your own comments on HB1416 to the State Legislature here: Washington State Legislature - Public Bill Comments
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