UT Professor Sues TVA For Violation Of Freedom Of Information Act After Refusing To Disclose Incentives For Bitcoin Miners

Image Credit: Tennessee Valley Authority / CC & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A University of Tennessee professor is suing the Tennessee Valley Authority for violating the Freedom of Information Act after the company failed to respond to a request for information regarding incentives given to cryptocurrency companies.

Melanie Fazier, a UT professor and journalist, requested documents related to the economic incentive grants in April 2023 as a part of her investigation of cryptocurrency mining operations.

As a part of her investigation, Fazier sought to find out what incentives were given by TVA to Bitdeer, a company that built a mine in East Knoxville in 2018. The company used nearly 10% of all Knoxville Utilities Board electricity in 2023, but they only have 30 employees. 

Faizer was unable to include specific information on incentives provided to Bitdeer because TVA failed to provide her with the requested information. She appealed their decision to withhold the information for nearly a year before publishing her story.

In April, Faizer filed a lawsuit against TVA in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Tennessee, alleging that there is “pervasive secrecy.”

TVA officials argue that they are justified in withholding the information because disclosure could affect competition with other economic development organizations and would be an invasion of privacy for Bitdeer employees.

Fazier, however, says the public would benefit from having an understanding of the practices TVA uses to attract these companies.

Bitdeer filed to join in the lawsuit with TVA, but Fazier’s attorney, Paul McAdoo, argued that it would cause “undue delay and prejudice” to Faizer if the company joined.

TVA spokesperson Scott Fiedler said, “TVA is a transparent organization, and we strictly adhere to FOIA guidelines to share information and keep the public informed about our actions.”

Company officials say they received 177 records requests between October 2022 and September 2023 and fulfilled all but eight of those requests. There are nine exceptions to the federal law that allow a denial of records requests.

According to TVA, they most often deny requests to protect trade secrets, personal privacy, and legally privileged communication.

According to the Justice Department, most FOIA lawsuits are settled before trial dates through summary judgment. This case is scheduled to go to trial in November 2025.