A 4-year-long dispute between residents of rural Hood County and a close-by Bitcoin mining operation has uncovered the social prices of Texas’ crypto growth. Owners turned in opposition to one of many state’s largest digital-asset miners.
On the heart of the battle is a big Bitcoin mine operated by MARA Holdings close to Granbury in unincorporated Hood County.
Bitcoin Mining Turns into a Fixed Psychological Torture
Neighbors say a relentless, low-frequency hum from the power’s cooling programs has turned every day life into what they describe as a endless ordeal. MARA (previously Marathon Digital) says it operates legally, brings funding and jobs, and has taken steps to scale back noise.
The mine started working in 2022 subsequent to a natural-gas energy plant outdoors Granbury. Residents quickly reported round the clock noise, likening it to “standing on a runway” or “the sting of Niagara Falls.” Complaints intensified via 2023 as the positioning expanded.
A Resident’s Touch upon the Hood County Bitcoin Mining State of affairs
“It is a sound that blasts me every single day once I stroll out of my again door,” one resident stated in a latest Al Jazeera report. Others described sleepless nights, complications, and stress. “The group is sick,” one other resident stated. “Extra than simply noise, it’s a bodily bombardment. It’s torturous.”
Texas Crypto Growth Meets Native Limits
Texas has grow to be the most important Bitcoin mining hub in america, internet hosting near 30% of nationwide mining energy by 2023, drawn by low cost land, low taxes, and a deregulated energy market.
That progress has collided with a key authorized actuality. Counties in Texas typically can not move enforceable noise ordinances. Solely cities can.
Hood County officers tried to make use of state “unreasonable noise” statutes in 2024, issuing citations tied to excessive decibel thresholds.
Nonetheless, the trouble faltered in court docket, displaying how slim these legal guidelines are in contrast with typical municipal noise limits.
Lawsuits and Sound Research
Residents organized and filed a personal nuisance lawsuit in state court docket, arguing that the mine’s noise and vibration considerably intervene with their use of their properties.
The case stays energetic, with disputes over entry to operational information and measurements.
Individually, Hood County commissioned an unbiased sound research in late 2024. The report documented elevated sound ranges close to the positioning and emphasised that the authorized threshold utilized in felony regulation is much extra permissive than metropolis noise requirements elsewhere.
The research additionally famous limits in entry and coordination, which prevented a full evaluation beneath all working situations.
Bitcoin Mining Hashrate World Map. Supply: Chain Bulletin
MARA says it has invested closely to mitigate impacts. The corporate constructed a big acoustic barrier wall, changed some cooling followers with quieter fashions, and started transitioning elements of the positioning to liquid immersion cooling.
In a press release cited by Al Jazeera, MARA stated it has invested greater than $320 million regionally, helps dozens of jobs, generates tax income, and “stay[s] dedicated to being good neighbors.”
For residents, these steps haven’t gone far sufficient.
“This was our eternally house,” one house owner stated. “I can’t promote my property. I’m being taxed at the next fee now than my property is value.”
A Failed Bid for Cityhood
In 2025, residents pursued a last-ditch technique. They needed to include their group as a metropolis, which might have allowed them to enact native noise legal guidelines.
The hassle drew nationwide consideration and authorized pushback from MARA, however a choose allowed the vote to proceed. Voters finally rejected incorporation, ending the bid to realize municipal authority.
“That was the plan,” an organizer advised Al Jazeera. “Nevertheless it has simply fallen down as a result of they misplaced that battle.”
With incorporation off the desk, residents say they are going to proceed to combat via the courts.
The publish MARA’s Bitcoin Mining Turned a Nightmare for this Texas City appeared first on BeInCrypto.
