An environmental community group sued Stronghold Digital Mining on Tuesday alleging that the company's bitcoin mine in northeastern Pennsylvania that burns waste coal and old tires for energy is contaminating nearby communities with dangerous chemicals. 
The lawsuit by environmental community group Save Carbon, filed in state court in Philadelphia, also names the state of Pennsylvania as a defendant.
The group, a non-profit organization whose members live near the bitcoin company, is seeking damages and punishment for the company, as well as an order for the state to stop allowing the pollution to continue.
The group said Stronghold has created too many problems by releasing mercury into waterways and spewing harmful chemicals like sulfur dioxide into the air from an aging power plant it bought to power its energy-hungry operations.
The state on the other hand issued the necessary permits allowing the pollution and subsidized the crypto-miner through tax incentives, despite having a duty under the state constitution to protect the environment for its citizens, according to the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Stronghold said in a statement that their operations clean up land and water in the area using waste coal left behind by historic coal production in the area.
"Stronghold's facilities have cleaned up millions of tons of carbon waste and reclaimed over 1.050 acres of once-blighted land, which are now sports fields, parks and fishing spots for local communities," the company spokesman said.
