Residents complain of noise as North Tonawanda Bitcoin plant testing operations | Local News

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Tylec said the city has a noise ordinance that limits outdoor noise on a site zoned industrial, such as Fortistar, to 65 decibels. Industrial noise on any residential site nearby must not exceed 55 decibels between 10 pm and 7 am

Tylec said city building inspector Rob DePaolo received a video Wednesday morning that showed a sound meter reading 63 decibels on the Fortistar property. Tylec said further investigation is planned.

“It’s a loud buzzing-humming,” said Sil Dan Jr., one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the city’s approval of the project, who said he lives two-tenths to three-tenths of a mile away and can hear the noise in his driveway.

Digihost, a Canadian company, has an agreement to buy the Fortistar plant to power the computers that carry out the complex calculations needed for security in transactions involving the digital currency. However, the state Public Service Commission has not yet approved the transaction.

The News requested comment from a Digihost spokeswoman Wednesday morning.

The city Planning Commission approved the project in September, but the Sierra Club and some nearby residents filed a lawsuit in November, attempting to invalidate that approval on the grounds that the process used allegedly violated the city zoning ordinance and the state Environmental Conservation Law.

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