Pack the Room at the Tompkins County Legislature Meeting
January 20, 5:30 pm
121 East Court Street, second floor, Ithaca, NY
About this Meeting
At the meeting they will discuss a resolution to reject the Water Withdrawal Permit application from Cayuga Operating Company.
Following our 737 comments to the DEC about the proposed Data Center’s water permits, this resolution was drafted by Tompkins County legislators Deb Dawson and Irene Weiser. If we can pack the legislature meeting, they will see how much the public is truly invested in these permits.
What is in the Resolution?
The resolution recognizes that
Cayuga Operating Company is a subsidiary of TeraWulf
TeraWulf has made public statements indicating their data center will not use lake water
TeraWulf CSO told Lansing officials that Cayuga Operating Company has formally agreed to surrender their water withdrawal permit
The DEC should not process this permit as a renewal, but instead as a new permit requiring appropriate environmental review for a data center
The resolution argues that
These existing permits were originally developed in the context of a power generation facility (the coal plant).
Now there will be a fundamentally different use for the site involving large material changes (constructing a 400mw data center).
This material change to the site’s use warrants the DEC to treat an application for renewal or modification as a new application for a permit.
A new application for a permit will trigger a complete re-evaluation of need, impacts, and enforceable operating conditions.
Why Does this Matter?
If the designation of the water permit applications changes from modifications of a renewed application to an entirely new application, the DEC can require a comprehensive review of the impacts of these permits.
An analysis of these permits would include:
Transparent, technically supported accounting of the maximum and expected water withdrawals
A study of seasonal and peak operational scenarios, intake/discharge configuration, and operational controls
Potential impacts on water quantity, water quality, and water-dependent natural resources
Make a Comment During Public Privilege of the Floor!
Your comment can include that you support the legislature passing the resolution to ask the DEC to reject this water withdrawal renewal application. Emphasize that you think a full environmental review should be conducted for a data center.Mention that you support the resolution to require that Cayuga Operating Company report to the DEC a comprehensive review of the impacts from water withdrawal.
Each public comment is allotted 3 minutes. Worried you’ll go over? Submit your full comment in writing after speaking! Can’t make it in-person? Submit a comment to legislature@tompkins-co.org
We Need a Huge Showing of Support at this Meeting
Make a plan to attend and bring a friend! Make signs to hold! Protect our lake! Clean water over profit!
Hold TeraWulf accountable! Cayuga Operating Company, subsidiary of TeraWulf, has made verbal promises of surrendering their water withdrawal permit, yet they’re actively renewing the water withdrawal permit anyway.
