MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council has passed an ordinance that will prohibit new cryptocurrency mining operations going into most zones in the city, the only exception being in the light industrial and heavy industrial zones.

The problem with cryptocurrency mining in Moses Lake is that it isn’t spelled out in the city’s zoning code and the city has been receiving inquiries about possible cryptocurrency operations in commercial and industrial zones. City officials have identified seven known cryptocurrency operations in the city, four of which were set up without the city’s knowledge and without proper permitting.

“Given a recent fire that was the direct result of an unpermitted cryptocurrency operation in the Central Business District zone and code enforcement complaints of cryptocurrency operations in the Residential zones, it is apparent that immediate regulatory controls are necessary in order to mitigate potential adverse impacts,” reads a staff report.

The moratorium, or temporary prohibition, passed by the council last week is for up to 12 months and will give the city time to study the impacts of cryptocurrency on the electrical power distribution system, land use development patterns/distribution and state and local licensing rules. Current operations in the city that are properly permitted/vested are not impacted by the moratorium and can still operate. The moratorium strictly prohibits new cryptocurrency mining operations, along with data centers and server farms/clusters, in all zones in the city, with the exception of the light industrial and heavy industrial zones.

The moratorium was passed by the council in a 6-1 vote, with councilmember Don Myers casting the only nay vote.

“Most people know that I am in great support of free enterprise. This is just the next stop in technology. We don’t know how fast technology is expanding. It’s on an exponential growth. I just think that it could be the next big thing,” Myers stated.

Several local cryptocurrency miners spoke at last week’s council meeting and urged the council not to pass the moratorium. One of those proponents was George Turner, who echoed Myers’ sentiment about the growth potential of the new field.

“Because no one has ever done it before. There is no manual for it. There are no industry best practices that have been established. It’s going to be up to those of us involved in it and the communities where we are working our jobs to develop those,” said Turner.

Moses Lake residents Dick Deane and Doug Sly are less than enthusiastic about the technology. Deane and Sly live on either side of a residential cryptocurrency mining operation in the city that runs 24/7.

“Cryptocurrency’s parasitic thirst for low cost electricity is the most serious threat to Grant County’s economy that I have seen for many years. Requests for power by cryptocurrency exceeds three times the total load currently used by all of Grant County. Let that sink in,” Sly told the council. “The jobs and tax base that go with new growth and expansion of existing businesses are at risk. Favorable rates for irrigated agriculture and our food processing plants are threatened.”

Grant County PUD commissioners previously approved the creation of the “evolving industries” class to account for an influx of inquiries/requests for electrical service, 75 percent of which were from cryptocurrency firms, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald report. The exact rate for the class is still being determined and is expected to be implemented by Aug. 1.

Per state law, the council is required to hold a public hearing within 60 days of the passing of the moratorium.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.