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Residents of Hood County in northern Texas have filed a lawsuit against a local bitcoin mining facility, alleging its "intolerably loud" noises and physical vibrations have caused mental and physical health problems.
The crypto mine in question — located in Granbury, Texas — is operated by Marathon Digital Holdings, according to the suit, though construction began in 2022 and Marathon took over the lease in January 2024.
Industrial cooling fans generate a near-constant hum, according to the suit — and residents want a permanent injunction, saying it causes them to "suffer day in and day out."
They're being represented by environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice.
One impacted resident, Cheryl Shadden, has difficulty sleeping and has experienced hearing loss, vertigo, and tinnitus, according to the suit.
Shadden's dogs and horses have also displayed signs of stress, and her electricity bills have risen as her home value has plummeted, the suit alleges.
"They think it's okay for us to live next door, and it's just not," another plaintiff, Hood County resident Daniel Lakey, told local outlet Fox 4.
His solution? "Turn 'em off."
Resident Liana Oechsle told NBC 5 that the facility has a right to exist but wants it to be more responsible. She likened the noise to "trying to talk over a giant tractor," adding, "It's shaking loud."
A MARA spokesperson "categorically" rejected the allegations in a statement to Business Insider.
"The data center, which we acquired less than a year ago, is in a well-established industrial zone, and sound measurements around the facility are below legal limits," the spokesperson said.
"Additionally, there is no established link — medical or otherwise — between our operations and the broad ailments that are being alleged," the company said, concluding, "We will defend ourselves against these false claims."
A website for the plant notes Marathon is working on extending a sound wall and transitioning to a quieter cooling process that involves placing servers in a special liquid.
America is now the biggest home for crypto mines after the industry was banned in China in 2021, Business Insider previously reported.
Today, America's 52 operations use about 2% of the country's energy, and facilities from North Carolina to Ohio to Arkansas have sparked a backlash from disgruntled neighbors — with a powerful bitcoin lobby ascending to counter the pushback, BI previously wrote.
