Texas residents push back against crypto mining operations
In November, residents of the Mitchell Bend area will vote to incorporate a city, seeking the authority to set local noise rules for Marathon’s crypto facility. As mining grows in Texas, small communities look for legal tools to manage the everyday impact of industrial data farms.
According to the Texas Tribune, neighbors of a data centre in Hood County, Texas, want a reliable legal instrument to address Marathon and say they are determined to act.
The story centres on the Mitchell Bend Highway neighborhood, where Marathon has operated since 2023. Residents compare a constant hum from tens of thousands of cooling fans to a plane that never lands. People spend less time on their porches, keep windows shut even at night, and report sleep disruption, migraines and blood‑pressure spikes.
County officials have limited options: in Texas, noise regulation sits with the state and municipalities, not counties. Activists therefore gathered signatures and placed an incorporation question on the November ballot. If more than 250 registered voters back the idea, a new city of Mitchell Bend (roughly two square miles) could adopt its own noise code.
Marathon says it has installed a 24‑foot sound barrier and partly upgraded its cooling system, and that residents’ measurements remain below 85 decibels, a commonly cited threshold. The company points to economic benefits, such as investment in Texas sites, jobs and tax receipts.
At the same time, company lawyers challenged petition signatures. A local judge initially voided the initiative, then, after new signatures were submitted, allowed it onto the ballot.
In Mitchell Bend, supporters of incorporation say they are not anti‑business; they want the right to demand quiet, at least in the evening and at night. Opponents fear that city status would bring unwanted rules and extra bureaucracy. The November vote will decide whether the community gains a mandate to set and enforce local noise limits.
This is not the first dispute around Marathon’s Texas data centers. In 2024, a case was filed against the manager of the mining site near Granbury, David Fisher. A jury later acquitted him, finding that the actual noise levels were acceptable for an industrial zone.
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