GRANBURY, Texas — Desperate to quiet a nearby Bitcoin mine's hum, about 100 Hood and Somervell County residents signed a petition Sunday calling elected officials to intervene.
Organizers will continue collecting signatures until local officials take action or state lawmakers take notice, they said.
"We have people in this area who are suffering," said Shannon Wolf, who helped draft the request. "We need to figure out how to help drown out the noise or decrease the noise... so people here can have their lives back."
Dozens of industrial fans cooling Bitcoin-mining supercomputers are responsible for the day-and-night hum. Some people as far as eight miles away have complained the constant drone affects their sleep.
Others who live closer to the facility say they've lost hearing and struggle to balance. Birds, deer and coyotes have fled the area and pet hens no longer lay eggs, neighbors say.
"My ears are ringing all the time," said Nick Browning, who lives across the highway from the mine. "It's never a quiet moment."
The petition calls local elected officials to treat residents' complaints as an emergency. Signees are formally begging authorities to force the facility's owner to reduce sound decibel levels, investigate the noise and its impact on people and wildlife, and make available the facility for public inspection.
Organizers acknowledged Sunday that they'll likely need the state legislature's help to quiet the hum. Texas law limits county officials' authority over such issues outside city limits.
"It's going to take our community rallying around this neighborhood and saying, 'We stand with you. We're not going to allow this to happen,'" Wolf said.
Marathon Digital Holdings purchased the mine in December. It will take operational control of the facility by April 30, a spokesperson said.
In a letter published Friday in the Hood County News and shared with WFAA, Marathon Digital Holdings CEO Fred Thiel said the company has launched an independent "sound study to better understand our operations and their impact on the community."
Thiel said Marathon Digital Holdings will also hire a "local community member" to act as a liaison between neighbors and the company.
"As the new owners and soon-to-be operators, we assure you that we are committed to being thoughtful and considerate neighbors - a commitment we look forward to proving to you through our actions in the coming days and weeks," Thiel wrote.
The mine's previous owner, US Bitcoin, erected a 24-foot wall in November meant to trap noise at the plant, but neighbors say the effort did not work. The barrier reflects and amplifies sound in some directions, residents claim.
Some fear the facility will eventually expand, bringing more industrial fans to the site.
"I'm going to be selfish and tell you I want it gone," Virginia Browning, Nick's husband, told WFAA Sunday. "We're not asking anything that's unreasonable. Just move it."