According to CryptoPotato, a Newport resident named James Howells is planning to file a lawsuit against the city's local council for refusing his request to dig up a landfill site where he accidentally disposed of a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC). Howells has been trying to get his Bitcoin excavated for a decade, but local authorities believe the venture will harm the environment.

Howells has resorted to legal measures after the Newport City Council refused several attempts for him to access the landfill site. He expressed frustration at the council's unwillingness to have a conversation and stated that they did not seem interested in settling the matter without legal action. In an open letter sent to the city council on September 4, Howells demanded permission to begin the excavation process by September 18.

In 2013, Howells accidentally threw away the hard drive containing 8,000 BTC, which he had mined in 2009. Since then, he has been making efforts to recover his lost Bitcoin treasure, purportedly buried deep in a landfill site. However, the Newport City Council denied his requests, stating that the excavation could harm the environment. In 2022, Howells proposed an $11 million search to the local authority that could take an estimated three years to complete, covering costs such as artificial intelligence machinery, robot dogs, and human labor. He also promised to give 60% of the recovered BTC to people who would help in his excavation mission and distribute $60 worth of Bitcoin to every Newport resident while keeping 30% of the lot for himself.

Howells' stash was worth over $550 million in November 2021 when Bitcoin's price hit an all-time high of almost $70,000. Currently, the crypto treasure is valued at approximately $205 million. The lawsuit will sue for damages worth $557 million (£446 million), matching the value of the lost Bitcoin at the asset's peak price, with Howells threatening to bankrupt the city council with the legal action. He is also requesting a judicial review of the council's decision to prevent him from accessing the landfill site for the past 10 years. Meanwhile, Newport authorities continue to maintain their stance, with a spokesperson stating that an excavation is impossible under the city council's environmental permit.