Residents in a rural North Texas community have voted not to become the state's newest small city as supporters attempted to regulate a nearby Bitcoin mine.
Unofficial results show voters in Mitchell Bend, a small community south of Granbury, voted overwhelmingly not to become a Type B municipality. Of , 52 were in favor of forming a city.
Supporters had been campaigning for months in an effort to regulate the Bitcoin operation, owned by MARA Holdings, within its boundaries. They say the mine makes a constant humming noise that has caused health issues including lack of sleep, nausea and vertigo.
"[It's] not my best day," resident Danny Lakey, who lives within sight of the mine, said of the election results. "It's very disheartening."
He added that residents still have an ongoing lawsuit led by the climate advocacy group Earth Justice that could lead to some relief.
"It's just a noise injunction to try to get them to either tone down or stop the noise, so that is still on the table," Lakey said.
Cheryl Shadden, who runs the Facebook page Bitcoin Noise Hood County, lives directly across the street from the Bitcoin mine. She said she鈥檚 suffered from hearing loss and the noise has also impacted her livestock.
鈥淲e're not against big industry,鈥� Shadden told 四虎影院 ahead of the election. 鈥淲hat we're against is harming the community.鈥�
Shadden and other residents have said that incorporating as a city was one of the only ways they could effectively take action against the noise pollution.
鈥淲hat we want to do is get back and preserve the peace we had, it's that simple,鈥� said Tom Weeks, who lives in a neighborhood behind the mine.
MARA last week filed a lawsuit against the county and some officials calling the election 鈥渋llegal鈥� and claiming the city鈥檚 incorporation would harm their operations. A federal judge this week denied their request to block the ballot measure.
MARA said it will continue to 鈥渧igorously defend鈥� its business in the area.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased that Hood County voters saw through the sham incorporation effort and rejected it at the ballot box," a company spokesperson told 四虎影院 in an email. "This was an unlawful attempt to weaponize municipal incorporation against law-abiding businesses like MARA."
The company added that it's focused on creating jobs, supporting local communities and being a responsible neighbor.
In addition to the Earth Justice lawsuit, Shadden told 四虎影院 in a previous interview there are are additional ongoing lawsuits against the Bitcoin mine and a nearby power plant owned by the energy company Constellation.
Pablo Arauz Pe帽a is 四虎影院鈥檚 growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo atparauzpena@kera.org.
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