Description: Lawsuit challenging the New York State Public Service Commission's decision to authorize a Canadian cryptocurrency company’s acquisition of ownership interests in a company that owns and operates a natural gas plant in North Tonawanda.
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Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, Inc. v. New York State Public Service Commission
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/07/2024 Opinion and Order Download Dismissal of petition reversed. New York Appellate Court Reinstated Case Challenging PSC Decision on Transfer of Generation Facility to Cryptocurrency Company. The New York Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of a proceeding challenging the New York State Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) September 2022 declaratory ruling that a cryptocurrency company’s acquisition of a limited liability company that owned a natural gas-fired cogeneration facility in Niagara County did not require further PSC review. A trial court dismissed the proceeding as unripe because the PSC had not yet ruled on the petitioners’ application for rehearing. The appellate court found that the State Administrative Procedure Act foreclosed a rehearing on the September 2022 declaratory ruling and that the ruling was therefore ripe for review. The appellate court also rejected the cryptocurrency respondents’ contention that the appeal was moot because the transaction was complete and because it would be costly to undo construction and improvements to the facility undertaken since September 2022. The appellate court found that the petitioners sought relief that would be available even if unwinding the transaction was not feasible, namely analysis under Section 7 of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that could lead to environmental mitigation requirements. The court also rejected the argument that the petitioners lacked standing, finding that increase in use of the facility would affect the petitioners’ members differently than other members of the public due to the members’ proximity to the facility. -
Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, Inc. v. New York State Public Service Commission
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/20/2023 Decision Download Public Service Commission's motion to dismiss granted and private respondents' motion to dismiss denied as academic. New York Court Said Challenge to Review of Cryptocurrency Company’s Acquisition of Power Plant Was Not Ripe. A New York Supreme Court dismissed as unripe a lawsuit challenging a New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) determination that a cryptocurrency company’s acquisition of ownership interests in a company that owns and operates a natural gas plant in North Tonawanda did not require further review under the Public Service Law. The PSC determined that environmental concerns raised by petitioners—which involved whether the transaction required the PSC to assess compliance with the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction and environmental justice mandates—were beyond the scope of the PSC’s “limited review.” The New York court found that the petition did not present a ripe controversy because the petitioners had timely applied to the PSC for rehearing pursuant to the Public Service Law and the PSC had not yet ruled on the rehearing petition. The court did not reach alternative grounds for dismissal raised by the parties to the transaction. These parties argued that the petitioners lacked standing and that the case was moot because the transaction had closed in February 2023. 01/24/2023 Motion Download Memorandum of law filed in support of petitioners-plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 01/13/2023 Memorandum of Law Download Memorandum of law filed in support of verified petition and complaint. 01/13/2023 Petition Download Verified petition and complaint filed. Environmental Groups Challenged Authorization to Transfer Ownership Interests in Gas Plant to Cryptocurrency Company. Two environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court challenging the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) decision to authorize a Canadian cryptocurrency company’s acquisition of ownership interests in a company that owns and operates a natural gas plan in North Tonawanda. The organizations asserted that the PSC was required to analyze whether the cryptocurrency company’s plans to increase the plant’s operations to power cryptocurrency mining would interfere with attainment of the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (CLCPA’s) greenhouse gas emissions reductions mandates or disproportionately burden disadvantaged communities in violation of the CLCPA.