Residents of Granbury, Texas, are suing Marathon Digital for noise pollution, which they claim is hazardous.
Residents of Grabury filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. in Texas State Court, Hood County.
They claimed that the mining giant’s Bitcoin mine was having “serious health and quality of life impacts” on the locals.
The worried individuals are represented by the nonprofit environmental law company Earthjustice, which states that at least twenty locals have experienced severe health issues, such as acute vertigo, incapacitating migraines, tinnitus, and lifelong hearing loss.
The case also draws attention to the community’s growing worries around rising electricity rates, as some residents have reported monthly bill increases of $100 to $200.
Apart from the financial burden, locals are also experiencing a steep decline in the value of their properties due to the constant noise and vibrations caused by the cryptomine, which is transforming their formerly tranquil havens into a “prison.”
A permanent injunction is sought in the action to compel Marathon to cease producing or permitting excessive noise from its operations. It also requests any relief the court thinks necessary to safeguard the rights and welfare of the community.
“Residents’ homes are no longer the refuge they once were. Marathon must take immediate action to reduce their overwhelming noise pollution,” said Rodrigo Cantú, a senior attorney at Earthjustice.
The case stems from several noise complaints made by locals between November 2023 and March 2024 to local officials such the Hood County Constable and Sheriff’s Office.
As previously reported, efforts to muffle the noise, such as building a 24-foot sound barrier, have not been successful. Locals claimed that the only punishment for noise infractions is a $500 fine, demonstrating the lack of teeth in the ordinance.
Marathon announced at the time that it had hired a third party to carry out a thorough investigation and promised to look into the matter further.
A Crypto Mining Hub
The industry is well-known for the continuous cacophony produced by thousands of powerful equipment and cooling fans.
Texas became a popular travel destination after China outlawed cryptocurrency mining in 2021 because of its affordable electricity prices and favorable regulations.
Five of the ten biggest Bitcoin mining operations in the United States by April 2023 were located in the state, including the enormous Riot site in Rockdale.
But the rapid expansion of cryptocurrency mining has sparked worries about how it could affect the state’s power grid, drive up resident electricity bills, and now lead to more and more health-related reports.
The ownership of the Granbury mining site has changed several times since it was first established in 2022.
Compute North Holdings was the original owner, and it then went to U.S. Bitcoin Corp., Hut 8 Mining Corp., and finally Marathon Digital Holdings, which took ownership in early 2024.
