Marathon Digital Faces Lawsuit From Texas Town Over Mining Noise

• More than 24 Granbury residents filed the lawsuit against Marathon Digital, claiming annoyance from noise and health concerns caused by its Bitcoin mining center.

• Their allegations against Marathon are that the mining site aggravated the plaintiffs’ deterioration of health, increased the electricity tariff, and reduced property values.

• Marathon now has a Granbury Bitcoin mine, and citizens want to sue Marathon for failing to compensate them for the noise disruption caused by the mine.

Over two dozen people from Granbury, Texas, are now suing Marathon Digital, a firm that specializes in cryptocurrency mining. According to the lawsuit, Marathon’s local Bitcoin mining facility produces unbearable noise and discomforts neighbors.

The complaint, submitted on October 4 at Hood County Court, is clogged by numerous stories citing noise and vibrations as causes for health impairment, including fatigue, headaches, loss of hearing, and migraines among residents.

Residents’ Health Complaints and Property Concerns

As per the lawsuit, even the noise and vibrations are so severe that residents can feel them inside their homes. Some have complained of being forced to take breaks because their health complications had deteriorated, including complaints of high blood pressure resulting from incessant disturbances.

The plaintiffs’ primary contention is that the mining operation has interfered with their lifestyle. Also, they argue that the mining facility’s energy has resulted in high charges on electricity bills and a decline in property values. They are demanding a perpetual restraining order against further unreasonable noise.

Marathon’s Mining Operations and Legal Response

Marathon made the most significant acquisition in January this year when they bought the Granbury site. Compute North Holdings established this facility in 2022 near a gas turbine power plant, Wolf Hollow II. He said there have been recent noise complaints since the onset of 2023.

Besides, the site is a Bitcoin miner with a hash rate of 4.3 ExaHashes per second (EH/s). Many residents have engaged Earthjustice’s law firm to represent them and demand that Marathon minimize noise emissions or cease operations. Whether it is the lawsuit filed by the Cement and Concrete Products Promoting Association, Marathon still has to release a statement.

For example, people from Hadsel, Norway, closed down a Bitcoin mine in their region in 2022 after making noise pollution complaints. However, they always had one problem: they consumed more electricity after the mine closed, which is how the Texas lawsuit against Marathon Digital could determine future crypto mining noise pollution cases.