Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The Hood County Commissioners Court has taken a significant step to address the growing concern from residents regarding the constant low-frequency hum emanating from the bitcoin data plant.
In a unanimous decision July 23, the court voted to adopt a resolution seeking legislative action to address the acoustical and noise pollution, destruction of property values, and the demand on the Texas energy grid caused by the cryptocurrency mining.
RESOLUTION
According to the resolution, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas gave testimony to the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce hearing June 12, that within only six years, the Texas power grid needs to grow from 85,000 to 150,000 megawatts. The testimony stated that crypto miners and data centers will be responsible for over 50% of the added growth.
As the hearing concluded, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick emphasized the need for a critical examination of cryptocurrency mining and data center industries. He released the following statement June 12 via X: “We need to take a close look at those two industries. They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our grid. Crypto mining may actually make more money selling electricity back to the grid than from their crypto mining operations. Texans will ultimately pay the price. I’m more interested in building the grid to service customers in their homes, apartments and normal businesses and keeping costs as low as possible for them instead of for very niche industries that have massive power demands and produce few jobs. We want data centers, but it can’t be the Wild Wild West of data centers and crypto miners crashing our grid and turning the lights off.”
Additionally, the resolution states there is a body of research concerning the effects of low frequency acoustical sound on the human body, as indicated by Dr. Mariana Alves-Pereira, a notable researcher who has dedicated more than 30 years to studying infrasound and low-frequency noise and acoustical pollution.
The resolution also quoted local ENTs Dr. Salim Bhaloo and Dr. Stephen Krzeminski, who were both quoted in a TIME Magazine article last month.
Bhaloo said he sees patients with symptoms potentially stemming from the bitcoin mine’s noise on an almost weekly basis. Bhaloo was also quoted as saying he’s seen an uptick since the new year in patients whose ailments — including ringing in their ears, vertigo and headaches — could be related to the mine.
Krzeminski referred to the residents near the Marathon Granbury cryptocurrency data center saying the noise is “detrimental to their health and anxiety.” Krzeminski also says he believes the mine is causing mental and physical health issues.
Due to the numerous media outlets who have published pieces on the situation — and due to the documented evidence of destruction of property values in Hood County as a direct result of the sound — the Hood County Commissioners Court officially called on the Texas Legislature to take action.
The resolution states that the Texas Legislature should modify its Health and Safety Code Chapter 343, Section 011 to include noise nuisance in the definition of public nuisance and to also modify noise nuisance penal code 42.01 to allow escalation of repeated offenses.
Furthermore, the resolution urges the Texas Legislature to reintroduce and enact Senate Bill 1751 that passed the Senate 31-0 in the 88th Legislature, which relates to the regulation and tax treatment of facilities in the ERCOT power region that demand a large load of interruptible power.
Additionally, the resolution calls on the Texas Legislature to enact legislation similar to Arkansas Senate Bills 78 and 79, which were both passed in May, to “create requirements for noise reduction in the operation of a digital asset mining business,” and to “provide for the regulation of digital asset mining business.”
The resolution also calls on the Hood Central Appraisal District to address the loss in value of the homes impacted by the noise and acoustical pollution.
Copies of the resolution will be delivered to state Sen. Brian Birdwell, state Rep. Shelby Slawson, the Hood Central Appraisal District, the Hood County News, and any other entity or governmental body selected by the Hood County Commissioners Court.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Before the resolution was passed, several residents spoke in favor of the agenda item during the public comment period, highlighting their concerns and advocating for legislative action to address the impacts of cryptocurrency mining on the community.
Resident John Highsmith mentioned several media outlets who have covered the bitcoin sound issue, including TIME Magazine, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, and KERA. He also noted international coverage from media outlets in Germany, India, Australia and the UK.
"Why are so many media outlets covering this?” he asked. “It's a classic story of human damages from greed ... This negative media coverage will make any decent company considering Hood County to look elsewhere, so please vote in solidarity with people of Hood and Somervell counties who are suffering from this noise assault.”
Resident David Blankenship said he moved to Granbury in 1987 to start his career in law enforcement at the Granbury Police Department. While he is now employed at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, he said he continues to live in Hood County because Granbury is his “favorite town.”
“Since I moved here, it's been my favorite,” he said. “I lived in Pecan and wanting to pursue my dream, I bought 10 acres where I'm currently living just prior to the bitcoin noise start. Had I known that was going to happen, I would definitely have not bought those 10 acres because the noise has been lynching.”
Blankenship stated the constant sound is a public health issue, and has reported medical issues with doctors unable to find any underlying causes.
"Believe me, I work narcotics, I've worked major crimes, I’ve served in Iraq from 2006 to 2008. I know stress, and I don't normally have issues with that, but I never had this issue until the bitcoin started. I'm not saying it's related to that, but I'm having them now," he said. "What we're asking here, as many of us get up and talk about this is that as a group, just because it's happening in one commissioner’s precinct, as a whole, it’s a public health issue. We should be one family. If it's affecting one of us, it should be affecting all of us.”
Somervell County resident Jenna Hornbuckle explained that as an employee of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Glen Rose, she has to undergo routine medical tests as an operator. She said for the past 10 years, her health data has showed that she is completely healthy — but last year, she was diagnosed with heart failure. She explained that both her and her children’s hearing have significantly deteriorated.
"The bitcoin issue has not been directly correlated to health issues yet, but according to my ENT, and my children's ENT, the low frequency noise is a big problem with hearing,” Hornbuckle said. “How do you go from 10 years of having a healthy heart and having no problems with your health history to having heart failure? It doesn't make sense.”
Contrary Creek resident Daniel Lakey attributed the widespread health issues to a single cause — stress. He highlighted insights from acoustical engineers regarding the severe effects of noise-induced stress, linking it directly to various health ailments such as heart disease, immune disorders, fatigue, headaches and sleep disturbances.
“Almost every disease, every illness that anybody has, they're reporting that it can be related to stress, and that can be related directly to the low frequency noise, so there's the connection,” Lakey said. “There is a health issue, and it is a severe one ... If people were getting sick from the water, we would do a water study. We would want to know why people are getting sick and we would do everything we could to cure the water. This is coming through the air; it's the same thing, and we're all getting pelted by it.”
Mitchell Bend resident Chris Brooking — speaking on behalf of herself and Tom Meeks, who couldn’t attend due to recovery from recent surgery — described plant owners Marathon Digital LLC as a bad neighbor. She said representatives of the company attended a town meeting in February, where residents expressed their concerns and grievances surrounding the noise.
"A good neighbor would have listened to these citizens and come up with a reasonable, immediate response. A bad neighbor would continue to blast the noise and show disregard for those who are affected. Sadly, we were saddled with a bad neighbor,” she said. “Bad neighbors don't care that noise pollution causes hearing loss, sleep disruption, anxiety, stress and cardiovascular issues. A bad neighbor doesn't care that Tom just spent nine days in the hospital with a saddle pulmonary embolism. The blood clot that caused that embolism cannot be traced to any physical actions such as a fall, an accident or previous surgeries. Could the cause of the noise pollution have caused the stress that caused Tom to have this situation? It's very possible. Can it be proved? No, it can't be proved. But it cannot be disproved either."
Precinct Chair 211 Shannon Wolf then touched on the broader impact of the bitcoin facility on Hood County property values, noting significant declines reported by residents such as Cheryl Shadden. She also expressed concern that Granbury’s reputation will be overshadowed by the extensive negative publicity surrounding the bitcoin plant.
“We have the honor of being the Celebration Capital of Texas and we have been named the Best Historic Small Town in America for a few years in a row. This is how we want to be known, but that's not our reputation,” Wolf said. “Today, Granbury is synonymous with a bitcoin facility that is causing children to go deaf. It is stealing the health of an entire community, while Hood County says that nothing can be done. I've heard members of this court express sincere empathy towards this community, but you also say that your hands are tied, and there's nothing you can do about this. Today, you have an opportunity to sign a resolution ... Precinct 211 is watching today, Hood County's watching but more than that, folks, the world is watching today. Please sign the resolution.”
Resident Joe Weber expressed his support for the resolution as well as the proposed sound study. He highlighted his personal struggle with noise from the bitcoin mine, likening it to the persistent drone of low-flying airplanes, which triggers his PTSD from 9/11. Weber also urged the court to reconsider the need for a sound study — an agenda item that had been previously discussed in prior courts.
Resident Laurie Walston emphasized the disruptive impact of noise from the Marathon facility on residents in the Mambrino Highway area of Hood County. She noted discrepancies in noise limits set by Texas regulations and occupational safety standards, highlighting that residents experience constant noise exposure without breaks, unlike workers with scheduled eight-hour shifts. Walston also cited guidelines from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, indicating that prolonged exposure to noise levels exceeding 85 decibels is hazardous.
Sarah Rosenkranz, who lives half a mile from the bitcoin facility, expressed deep concerns about the health impacts her family has endured due to the noise. She said her daughter has suffered numerous ear infections, missed school and even had a recent seizure with no known cause, resulting in significant medical bills.
"It is so loud in her room,” Rosenkranz said. “We read 65 decibels at 3 a.m. She has to sleep in our room because it's so loud she can't sleep. It's 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She can't play outside anymore because it's so loud ... We're stuck living a nightmare and sometimes we go and stay in an Airbnb or hotel for a week just to get relief ... It's just truly unbearable and y'all can do something about it. You're the only ones that can do something about it. Please help us. We're literally dying. My daughter lost half of her first school year over this. We just really need y'all to help us.”
Following the conclusion of public comments, Precinct 2 Commissioner Nannette Samuelson said she has learned a lot about sound wave acoustics and vibration over the past year. She thanked Giovanni Catanzaro, the deputy regional director for Sen. Ted Cruz, as well as Slawson’s District Liaison Meredith Fraser for coming to the meeting to listen to residents’ testimonies.
"I was contacted just yesterday by a person that is a gubernatorial appointee that has worked over several years on getting legislation passed, and she wants to be involved and help us,” Samuelson said. “This resolution will be very important in getting the information to our legislators in Austin, so that we can enhance or change laws that will help all the issues that you've heard today ... We want to be able to give our law enforcement and our county attorney tools that will ensure our citizens can peacefully enjoy their property."
“I think the state is conducting a study into this,” Hood County Judge Ron Massingill said. “They’re looking at it. I think it’s a good idea and I hope that they continue to look at it. I’m in favor of the resolution myself.”
Samuelson proposed adopting the resolution, which was seconded by Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle. The motion passed unanimously.
