According to Cointelegraph, the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee has passed the Cryptocurrency Energy Conservation Act by a narrow margin of 13 to 12. The bill's sponsor, Democratic Representative Greg Vitali, removed a two-year crypto mining ban from the legislation, citing pressure from trade labor unions. Vitali claimed that voting against the unions would risk the Democratic majority in Pennsylvania's House and that he would prefer the bill to pass without the moratorium than not at all.

The original two-year ban would have halted approvals for new and renewed permits to operate crypto mining facilities. Instead, the amended bill now requires an impact study on miner operations and new reporting requirements. Within six months, miners in the state must submit information on the number of mining sites operated, the size of each site, energy sources, emissions reports, and energy and water consumption. Pennsylvania-based crypto miners will have to submit these reports annually, while new miners must submit the same report before starting operations.

Crypto mining company Stronghold Digital Mining has established operations in Pennsylvania, the third-largest coal-producing state in the United States, and purchased two coal-burning power plants with the intention of converting the plants' waste into energy for Bitcoin mining. In July, the company sought approval to burn shredded tires to produce up to 15% of its energy needs, a move that faced strong opposition from local environmental groups. Additionally, Bitcoin mining firm TeraWulf operates a nuclear-powered site in Pennsylvania.