A small cryptocurrency mining operation near 120th Avenue in Adams County is seen in this photo from an inspection report. (BusinessDen file photos)
A judge in Adams County canceled a hearing to determine the fate of a cryptocurrency mining operation at an oil and gas well after county inspectors noticed it had closed.
District Court Judge Mark Warner canceled the Tuesday morning hearing at the request of Assistant Adams County Attorney Christine Fitch. Last week, the county sued Renegade Oil & Gas and asked for an emergency injunction to stop it from mining cryptocurrency.
But that won’t be necessary.
“The crypto operation has left Adams County,” JB Condill, Renegade’s vice president, said by phone Monday.
Condill contends the county’s lawsuit, filed July 11, was moot from the start.
“It had been moved July 5th. It had been moved prior to the lawsuit being filed,” he said of the crypto work. “They inspected it on July 1st, saw it then, but during the long weekend, on July 5th, it was taken down and moved. They didn’t check back before they filed the lawsuit.”
He added, “Our attorneys have had discussions with the county attorney and we are moving towards hopefully having the lawsuit dismissed. We’re not quite there yet.”
Fitch explained to the judge Friday that she spoke the day before to the property owner at 36520 E. 120th Ave. in unincorporated Adams County, where Renegade’s operation was, and was told the crypto work had ended. A county inspector confirmed that Friday.
The land at 36520 and 37550 E. 120th Ave. in Adams County is northeast of Denver International Airport.
“As a result, the county believes that there is not currently an immediate harm to the public health, safety or welfare, as this operation has ceased for the time being,” Fitch wrote to the judge that day. “The county intends to continue pursuing the permanent injunction … to enjoin any future use as cryptocurrency mining without proper county authorization.”
The Renegade case places Adams County near the forefront of regulating cryptocurrency mining at Colorado’s wellheads. The practice, which is only a few years old, uses excess natural gas to power computers as they complete the complex computations necessary to “mine” — or acquire online — Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies.
Proponents say they are using gas that would otherwise enter the atmosphere to power mining that would otherwise tax the energy grid. Regulators, such as Jenni Hall in Adams County, at the very least want to ensure it is being done safely and responsibly.
“That is the difficulty when there is an unpermitted or unregulated use: there hasn’t been an evaluation to determine what safety risks might exist,” Hall, the county’s director of community and economic development, said in an interview Thursday. “Natural gas does, of course, carry risks with it. It is highly flammable. So, there should always be review processes in place when dealing with something like that, particularly in our dry climate.”
It’s believed that cryptocurrency mining at wells is occurring in a half-dozen Colorado counties, Hall said, and none have developed regulations. Hall said Adams County will consider doing so during a county commission study session at the end of August.
“We may be the first to do so but I don’t anticipate that we will be the last,” she said. “It’s just a relatively new use that nobody has on their books yet.”
There were once four crypto mining operations at gas wells in Adams County, according to Hall. A county spokeswoman said Monday that none of the four remain in operation.
A small cryptocurrency mining operation near 120th Avenue in Adams County is seen in this photo from an inspection report. (BusinessDen file photos)
A judge in Adams County canceled a hearing to determine the fate of a cryptocurrency mining operation at an oil and gas well after county inspectors noticed it had closed.
District Court Judge Mark Warner canceled the Tuesday morning hearing at the request of Assistant Adams County Attorney Christine Fitch. Last week, the county sued Renegade Oil & Gas and asked for an emergency injunction to stop it from mining cryptocurrency.
But that won’t be necessary.
“The crypto operation has left Adams County,” JB Condill, Renegade’s vice president, said by phone Monday.
Condill contends the county’s lawsuit, filed July 11, was moot from the start.
“It had been moved July 5th. It had been moved prior to the lawsuit being filed,” he said of the crypto work. “They inspected it on July 1st, saw it then, but during the long weekend, on July 5th, it was taken down and moved. They didn’t check back before they filed the lawsuit.”
He added, “Our attorneys have had discussions with the county attorney and we are moving towards hopefully having the lawsuit dismissed. We’re not quite there yet.”
Fitch explained to the judge Friday that she spoke the day before to the property owner at 36520 E. 120th Ave. in unincorporated Adams County, where Renegade’s operation was, and was told the crypto work had ended. A county inspector confirmed that Friday.
The land at 36520 and 37550 E. 120th Ave. in Adams County is northeast of Denver International Airport.
“As a result, the county believes that there is not currently an immediate harm to the public health, safety or welfare, as this operation has ceased for the time being,” Fitch wrote to the judge that day. “The county intends to continue pursuing the permanent injunction … to enjoin any future use as cryptocurrency mining without proper county authorization.”
The Renegade case places Adams County near the forefront of regulating cryptocurrency mining at Colorado’s wellheads. The practice, which is only a few years old, uses excess natural gas to power computers as they complete the complex computations necessary to “mine” — or acquire online — Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies.
Proponents say they are using gas that would otherwise enter the atmosphere to power mining that would otherwise tax the energy grid. Regulators, such as Jenni Hall in Adams County, at the very least want to ensure it is being done safely and responsibly.
“That is the difficulty when there is an unpermitted or unregulated use: there hasn’t been an evaluation to determine what safety risks might exist,” Hall, the county’s director of community and economic development, said in an interview Thursday. “Natural gas does, of course, carry risks with it. It is highly flammable. So, there should always be review processes in place when dealing with something like that, particularly in our dry climate.”
It’s believed that cryptocurrency mining at wells is occurring in a half-dozen Colorado counties, Hall said, and none have developed regulations. Hall said Adams County will consider doing so during a county commission study session at the end of August.
“We may be the first to do so but I don’t anticipate that we will be the last,” she said. “It’s just a relatively new use that nobody has on their books yet.”
There were once four crypto mining operations at gas wells in Adams County, according to Hall. A county spokeswoman said Monday that none of the four remain in operation.
