A bitcoin mine in the Finger Lakes is now drawing the attention of federal officials.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get involved in deciding whether Greenidge Generation can keep running on the shore of Seneca Lake.

Greenidge Generation has applied for renewal of its state permit. Its Dresden natural gas power plant delivers energy to the grid. Greenidge also operates a bitcoin mine there.

Environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, say the mine boosts the plant's carbon emissions 10 times.

In a statement, Senator Gillibrand says the Greenidge operations "pose a potentially significant risk to the ecological sustainability of New York's Finger Lakes region."

Gillibrand wants the EPA "to fully assess the potential consequences of the plant's bitcoin mining operations and its effect on local emissions and air quality."

Greenidge Generation issued a statement regarding its application to renew its existing Title V air permit, saying in part: "Greenidge's application for renewal of our existing Title V air permit has been deemed complete by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation."