Murphy – Darryl Brown still has not found a legal “magic wand” to make noise from unenclosed crypto mines go away.
The burden of quieting those giant fans, however, has fallen back into the lap of the Cherokee County
attorney.
For the second time in less than a year, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 5 unanimously approved a resolution asking state legislators to deliver a solution to noise from unenclosed crypto mines. In the meantime, newly elected Chairman Cal Stiles also asked Brown to make another attempt at crafting a new noise ordinance, which will be presented at the January monthly meeting.
Brown said his job is to “craft something that will be helpful to the folks who are affected by the crypto mines, and avoiding unintended consequences” to others. Achieving that goal figures to be a challenge, though, as Brown said there have been no new developments since he pivoted away from a noise ordinance earlier this year and urged commissioners to instead consider a land use ordinance.
“There is nothing new under the sun,” Brown said. “My legal opinion, I stand by it, as far as what’s the most effective way to go about it.
“But, the board commissioners are unanimously, across the board, against opening any doors that might lead to land use regulation and zoning. The next best thing is a noise ordinance that can be used by the people who are affected (near) the crypto mines, and my job at this point in time is to craft that and it may look similar to some of the things we’ve done before, or it may be entirely different.”
The board has spent a full year going in circles over a possible noise ordinance or land use ordinance that could offer a means of controlling noise from Ankr/Exponential Digital’s unenclosed crypto mine on Harshaw Road outside Murphy – and from potential new facilities in the future.
Exponential Digital erected a partial noise abatement wall early this year, but by March some residents complained the structure only funneled and amplified the noise in a more limited number of directions. The number of individuals who have complained about noise issues during commissioners meetings has dwindled somewhat over the course of the year, but Stiles said members of the board still receive more complaints privately.
“We still hear from them,” Stiles said. “I do, and the other commissioners do as well. They’re upset with it and would like for something to be done to diminish the noise.”
The commissioners’ latest resolution not only makes a second request for help from state Sen. Kevin Corbin and state Rep. Karl Gillespie, it also calls upon U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, U.S. Sen.-elect Ted Budd and U.S. Rep.-elect Chuck Edwards to introduce and champion legislation that would “ban and/or regulate crypto mining operations in the United States of America.”
Former chairman Dan Eichenbaum said he found it “interesting to note” that the previous board passed a similar motion on Dec. 13, 2021. He read from the previous resolution during the Dec. 5 meeting.
“Therefore it is hereby resolved by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners that Senator Kevin Corbin and Representative Karl Gillespie are requested and implored on behalf of the citizens and residents of Cherokee County to introduce legislation that unenclosed, portion enclosed and/or unmanned crypto mining facilities may be declared as public nuisances and allow for local government action to regulate existing crypto mining facilities and/or to prevent further installation of crypto mines and to allow for the removal of existing crypto mine facilities,” Eichenbaum said. “That was passed about a year ago and asked of the same people to do that.”
Stiles said the new board would “follow up” on the latest resolution.
“I know that Commissioner (Jan) Griggs and Commissioner (Ben) Adams and myself will,” Stiles said. “We’ll talk to our legislators and see what we can get done to push this.
“I personally think that if we can get a bill into the system, I believe there will be other counties that want to adopt it as well.”
Locally, Brown raised the possibility of a noise ordinance in December 2021. Commissioners finally caved to public pressure earlier this spring and voted in favor of amending the existing noise ordinance – not once, but twice on April 16. Before the proceedings were over, however, both the board and a disgruntled crowd learned that neither of those votes ultimately held any weight.
Assistant county manager Maria Hass informed the board that its own rules of procedure only allow an ordinance to be amended on the first vote if that vote is unanimous. The April 16 vote was 4-1 in favor of amending the more specific noise ordinance, with Commissioner Gary “Hippie” Westmoreland the lone holdout.
In May, Brown publicly acknowledged that there was no legal “magic wand” that would apply an effective deterrent to the noise from an unenclosed crypto mine. The attorney also stated that the amended noise ordinance he crafted was no more enforceable than the one already on the books. Brown further warned of a “slight risk” of litigation and referenced dozens of lawsuits against the Department of Social Services – which Cherokee County settled for $48.5 million in June – as a cautionary tale.
The board pivoted in June to allowing the attorney to explore the possibility of a narrowly-focused planning board that could give way to some type of land use ordinance aimed at crypto mining operations. Brown embraced the idea of a land use ordinance after consulting with an environmental attorney, but those suggestions were rejected by commissioners due to fears about zoning.
Brown said he will ask commissioners to take time for public feedback and to consult the UNC School of Government for feedback after he presents the new noise ordinance draft early next year.
“Darryl is going to go back to the drawing board,” Stiles said. “We’ll just have to see. We may get something and we may not, but we’re going to put our full faith effort into trying to come up with something.”