U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill that would have crypto miners disclose their emissions and see the Environmental Protection Agency analyze the effect mining has.
The Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act, which was first introduced last December and is cosponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), would see the EPA conduct a study on what impact miners using more than 5 megawatts of power have on greenhouse gas emissions and require these miners to disclose information about these emissions.
The reintroduction of the bill comes ahead of a hearing on the environmental impact of crypto mining, set to be held on Tuesday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m. ET (19:30 UTC). A witness list was not immediately available.
The pollution generated by the crypto mining industry "is growing," Markey said in a statement.
“While we’re working together as a nation to face down an existential crisis that puts the health and safety of our people and our planet in jeopardy, crypto miners are sucking megawatt after megawatt from our public grids and emitting skyrocketing greenhouse gasses, just so they can make a buck for themselves," he said. "We can’t afford to let this industry run roughshod over our communities any longer.”
The bill itself is largely similar to last year's version.
In a press release, Markey noted that several Senators asked the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) about the impact crypto miners have on its energy grid.
Jesse Hamilton contributed reporting.
