After
the
U.S.
Department
of
Energy’s
(DOE)
first
attempt
to
survey
crypto
mining
companies
about
their
energy
usage
was
kneecapped
by
a
lawsuit,
the
department
is
getting
ready
to
try
again
–
but
this
time,
it’s
seeking
input
from
crypto
industry
participants
first.
The
Energy
Information
Administration
(EIA),
a
federal
agency
within
the
DOE
that
oversees
energy
statistics
and
analysis,
hosted
a
public
webinar
on
Wednesday
to
hear
comments
from
interested
members
of
the
public
–
including
crypto
miners
and
industry
participants
–
about
how
such
a
survey
should
be
crafted
ahead
of
a
planned
rulemaking
proposal
to
be
published
in
the
Federal
Register.
In
January,
the
agency
floated
a
mandatory
survey
for
nearly
500
“identified”
commercial
crypto
miners,
requiring
them
to
respond
with
detailed
data
about
their
energy
use
or
else
risk
civil
and
criminal
penalties.
The
survey
was
authorized
by
the
Office
of
Management
and
Budget
(OMB),
which
oversees
federal
agencies
and
administers
the
federal
budget,
as
an
emergency
collection
of
data
request,
meaning
it
did
not
go
through
the
normal
notice
and
comment
process.
The
proposal
was
immediately
met
with
outrage
from
crypto
miners,
including
Marty
Bent,
director
at
bitcoin
mining
firm
Cathedra
Bitcoin,
who
called
the
mandatory
survey
“Orwellian”
in
a
blog
post
and
expressed
concern
that
it
could
be
used
to
create
a
“hyper-detailed
registry
of
mining
operations”
in
the
U.S.
The
following
month,
the
Texas
Blockchain
Council
(TBC),
an
industry
group,
and
mining
company
Riot
Platforms
filed
suit
against
the
DOE,
EIA,
OMB
and
various
officials,
accusing
them
of
violating
the
Administrative
Procedure
Act
(APA)
and
calling
for
a
temporary
restraining
order
and
injunction
to
suspend
the
survey
until
proper
a
notice
and
comment
process
had
been
observed.
The
EIA
ultimately
agreed
to
temporarily
suspend
their
survey
in
February
–
now,
they’re
taking
another
stab
at
it.
Take
two
More
than
100
attendees
joined
the
EIA’s
45-minute
webinar
on
Wednesday,
and
10
people
–
including
crypto
miners,
industry
participants,
researchers
and
one
member
of
the
public
–
spoke.
Bitcoin
researcher
Margot
Paez,
a
PhD
candidate
at
the
Georgia
Institute
of
Technology
and
sustainability
consultant
at
the
Bitcoin
Policy
Institute,
agreed
that
a
survey
needed
to
be
conducted,
but
said
the
industry
was
“wary”
of
the
EIA’s
motives
and
suggested
that
an
outside
institution
be
selected
to
run
the
survey.
Lee
Bratcher,
president
and
founder
of
the
Texas
Blockchain
Council,
suggested
that
the
EIA
also
include
traditional
data
centers
in
its
survey,
and
not
just
limit
the
request
for
information
to
crypto-focused
data
centers.
The
suggestion
was
seconded
by
Jayson
Browner,
senior
vice
president
of
government
affairs
at
Marathon
Digital
Holdings,
who
said
the
industry
would
be
“skeptical”
of
the
survey
if
traditional
data
centers
were
cut
out
of
the
request.
“At
this
point
we’re
considering
everything,”
said
Stephen
Harvey,
an
official
with
the
EIA,
adding
that
including
traditional
data
centers
in
the
survey
was
“clearly
on
the
table.”
Harvey
said
that
the
EIA
is
currently
in
the
process
of
developing
a
preliminary
proposal
which
is
expected
to
be
published
in
the
Federal
Register
sometime
this
quarter.
It
will
then
go
through
a
60-day
comment
period
during
which
the
industry
can
respond
to
the
proposal.
“At
the
end
of
that
60
days
we
will
take
all
the
information
in
as
well,
and
we’ll
look
at
that
and
make
any
adjustments
based
on
new
information
that
we
think
are
necessary.
We
will
respond
to
major
issues
that
get
raised
in
that
process,
and
file
a
new
posting
for
the
federal
registry,”
Harvey
said.
Following
that,
there
will
be
a
30-day
review
process,
Harvey
explained,
after
which
the
decision
on
whether
the
EIA
can
move
forward
with
its
survey
rests
in
the
hands
of
the
OMB.