Crypto bill passed, wee beasties in NYC's water, and more

Introducing the Digest, a weekly roundup of local climate and Catskills news

A reminder of flood levels inside Kingston’s wastewater treatment plant, which has recently gotten some fortifications against the rising Rondout. More from me in the Times Union on how climate change is already here, and how the region is responding.

A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING: Hope you enjoyed your turkey, EoD readers. Or Tofurkey, if that’s more your speed. We don’t judge. 

I’m launching a weekly digest of climate, energy, and rural Catskills news, with a dose of what we in the news biz call “voice” to make the inevitable wonky acronyms a little less painful. Paid subscribers will get the full thing, free subscribers get a few juicy items. If you’d like a sample before committing to subscribe, shoot me an email at empireofdirt@substack.com and I’ll send you this edition. 

Got news tips? Stories we should be discussing in class? Thoughts on what would make this newsletter more useful to you? Talk to me. 

TALE FROM THE CRYPT: The big climate news in New York this week is that Gov. Kathy Hochul finally signed the crypto moratorium bill, after months of dithering. Liz Moran can relax for a minute. Happy for you, Liz. 

Liz Moran @LizAGMoran

Wanna know what winners do? They sit at their desks eating a half gallon of ice cream directly from the container while shooting whip cream straight in their mouth

Liz Moran @LizAGMoran

Winning feels good

What the crypto bill does: Establishes a two-year moratorium on new permits for fossil-fueled power plants that seek to run huge, power-hungry proof-of-work crypto mining operations. Turns up the pressure on notable Bitcoin fanboy Eric Adams. 

What it doesn’t do: Ban other forms of crypto production. Keep New Yorkers from YOLOing their life savings into weird investments. Stop the gas-fueled Greenidge Bitcoin power plant in the Finger Lakes from chugging away. 

MUST READ: Colin Kinniburgh’s story in NY Focus this week, “To Meet Climate Mandate, New York Needs To Learn How To Build Clean Energy Again.” I talk a lot about how most local news outlets don’t invest in climate beat reporters. To its credit, NY Focus does. Colin is very, very good. And so is this story: a hard-nosed look at the mismatch between New York’s lofty climate goals and the sluggish pace of buildout on the wind, solar, battery storage, and transmission projects needed to make those goals actually happen.

PASS ON GAS? A popular local climate campaign has Beacon contemplating a ban on gas-burning in new construction. If Beacon passes a law, it will be the third city in New York to do so, behind New York City and Ithaca. According to me the Times Union, the proposed bill faces some pushback from Beacon mayor Lee Kyriacou, who doesn’t appreciate city council members taking the initiative on legislation. 

OVERHEARD: “We have an economic opportunity of biblical proportion” — Dennis Elsenbeck, head of energy and sustainability at the law firm Phillips Lytle, telling fellow members of the New York State Climate Action Council on Nov. 21 that they need to get better at talking up the job-creating opportunities in New York’s transition away from fossil fuels. 

THE HILLS HAVE EYES: What’s up in the rural Catskills.

-Climate change and invasive species are pushing New York City’s water agency to draw more water from the Catskill system’s Ashokan Reservoir lately, the Daily Freeman reports. The DEP’s Paul Rush told stakeholders that because of ongoing changes in the watershed, water coming from the other side of the city’s west-of-Hudson reservoir network — the Delaware system — has less dirt, but more “organic material,” than Ashokan’s waters. When chlorine is added to deal with that organic material, it creates byproducts, and the city is struggling to keep those within acceptable limits. 

Looking ahead: Next year, if the stars align, NYC’s water will be all-Catskill for awhile as the agency takes on the Herculean task of repairing the Delaware Aqueduct. And it might not taste as good.

-Drive along Route 30 and you’ll see plenty of signs saying “Don’t Trash The Catskills.” Their target: A proposed garbage-to-fuel plant that would straddle a remote area in the rural towns of Roxbury and Prattsville. Now the company that wants to build it, Hughes Energy, is courting Sullivan County, whose Seneca Meadows landfill is stuffed to the gills and facing a countdown to closure. Should Sullivan County let Hughes pressure-cook its garbage to make fuel pellets? Is it better if they turn it into paper instead? Who run Bartertown? These are the questions.

PSC WATCH: Comments are due Nov. 28 to the NYS Public Service Commission on a proposed 8-acre battery storage project on Browns Road, in the Orange County town of Montgomery. 

COMING UP: Climate stuff on the calendar.

12/1 In Albany and online: A technical conference on Utility Thermal Energy Networks hosted by the New York State Public Service Commission. Here’s some background from geothermal expert Jay Egg on why this stuff is exciting, for those who’d like to see New York’s largest source of emissions get fixed. 

12/5 The New York State Climate Action Council holds another long, long meeting, as they race to finish their work on the state’s climate plan by the end of the year. What will the final plan include? Will it pave the way for the DEC to enact a statewide “cap-and-invest” program without any help from the state legislature? Will the CAC keep fighting about cow farts renewable natural gas right up to the very last minute? Tune in via webcast at 1pm to find out. 

TWO CENTS: Spare change from the couch cushions of social media.

Michael Liebreich MA MBA OLY HonFEI @MLiebreich

A thread for those who think we're going to be importing lots of hydrogen over vast distances. 1. Shipping liquid hydrogen is not going to be a thing. To understand why, you need to understand that hydrogen is basically liquid, -253C escapey, explodey expanded polystyrene.