Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania

Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy has reportedly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.

The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.

The operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.

Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, saying that it may resume gas production.

However, the DEP and environmental advocates say that Diversified has failed to meet its obligations.

Under a 2021 agreement, Diversified had committed to plugging Longhorn A and 13 other wells at the end of their operational life.

Diversified did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

Environmentalists have long raised concerns about Diversified’s business model, which involves acquiring aging, low-producing wells and extracting remaining value without sufficient plans for decommissioning.

Plugging a single well can cost over $100,000, and Pennsylvania already has over 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells, making the stakes particularly high.

A 2022 report labeled the company’s approach a “business model built to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers could be left footing the bill for thousands of unplugged wells.

Diversified recently agreed to plug 3,000 wells by 2034 in a separate legal settlement but continues to face regulatory scrutiny, including a probe by the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Horton Township officials, where the Longhorn site is located, say that they’ve received no updates from the company.

Local supervisor PJ Piccirillo told the Erie Times-News that generators and tanks were removed without notice.

“All we know is that the property seems to have been abandoned,” Piccirillo said.

On April 25, the planning commission of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to establish a cryptocurrency mining facility within the city limits.

The decision followed opposition from residents who expressed concerns about noise pollution and the potential impact on property values.

Earlier this year, Arkansas lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban crypto mining operations within 30 miles of any US military facility in the state.

The opposition to crypto miners in Arkansas follows a broader trend across US municipalities where crypto-mining initiatives have faced increasing scrutiny.

In October 2024, a group of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital. The residents claimed that the company’s mining facility was generating too much noise.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, targeted Marathon Digital, a subsidiary of mining holding company Mogo, Inc., and several company executives.

The lawsuit focused on a Bitcoin mining facility that Marathon Digital had begun operating in December 2023 at an industrial park in Granbury, about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

According to the lawsuit, the light from the facility’s large LED video wall could be seen from a nearby neighborhood, and the facility’s generators and air-conditioning units were generating excessive noise that was disturbing nearby residents.

The plaintiffs, who lived within a half-mile of the facility, claimed that the noise was so unbearable that they could not sleep at night or enjoy their own backyards.

They also argued that the facility’s construction and operation had not been properly approved by local officials, and that the facility was not compatible with the surrounding residential community.

The lawsuit sought to force Marathon Digital to pay triple the amount of any economic damages that were caused, along with legal fees and other monetary relief. It also requested that the court issue an injunction to immediately halt the facility’s operations.

The lawsuit highlighted the increasing scrutiny that cryptocurrency mining operations are facing in the U.S., particularly in response to concerns about environmental impact, energy consumption, and community disruption.

As large-scale Bitcoin mining facilities continue to be deployed, local residents are becoming more involved in legal challenges to mitigate the perceived negative externalities of these facilities.

The case is still pending, and Marathon Digital has not yet filed a response.

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