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In December 2021, Ponderay Real Estate LLC, a subsidiary of Allrise Capital, submitted a conditional use application CUP-2021-012 in order to conduct commercial cryptocurrency mining at the former Ponderay Newsprint Paper Mill near Usk. Ponderay Real Estate LLC, acting on behalf of Merkle Standard LLC (also a subsidiary of Allrise Capital), needed a conditional use permit before beginning operations because the former PNC Mill site is actually zoned as Residential. Using the site for commercial or industrial purposes without an approved conditional use permit violates county zoning rules. To date the CUP application has not been approved. A third-party Hearing Examiner will be considering whether to approve the application on May 12.
Despite not having an approved conditional use permit, Merkle Standard has been commercially mining cryptocurrency for several months. They have given tours to residents and openly admitted they are currently mining in public meetings and to the media. Initially they put forth the specious argument that they were using thousands of their mining computers, which produce a substantial amount of heat, to heat the mill building. But now they are running the mill's HVAC system and noisy cooling fans 24/7 to "de-heat" the buildings from the extensive commercial bitcoin mining taking place inside. Even though the few thousand machines in the building are a small fraction of the total Merkle Standard hopes to turn on soon (the white shipping container "Modular Data Centers" in the parking lot contain many times more computers), neighbors are already complaining about annoying noise levels that are negatively impacting their quality of life. Several residents have complained to the county about the issue, even testifying before the County Commissioners last Monday. So the question is, why won't the County enforce its own rules when Merkle Standard is so blatantly violating them? This unanswered question casts doubt on the County's elected and unelected public servants' willingness to protect the process of law that protects the rest of us. UPDATE: The County Prosecuting Attorney, Ms. Dolly Hunt, and the Community Development Department have responsibilities for enforcing County zoning laws. If you would like to comment on this issue, you can email these County public servants at: County Prosecuting Attorney Ms. Dolly Hunt: [email protected] Community Development Department: Mr. Greg Snow: [email protected] Mr. Andy Huddleston: [email protected] Ms. Vicki Koehler: [email protected] You can also comment to the County Commissioners by email at [email protected] or in person on Mondays at 4pm at the Commissioners conference room on the first floor of the County Courthouse or vis Zoom COMMISSIONERS’ MEETINGS AVAILABLE VIA ZOOM https://zoom.us/j/5094474119; Meeting ID: 509 447 4119 Or Dial by your location: +1 301 715 8592 US or +1 253 215 8782 US. Meeting ID: 509 447 4119
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