Murphy – The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners finally caved to public pressure over crypto mining noise and voted in favor of amending an existing noise ordinance – not once but twice – on Monday night.
Before the proceedings were over, however, both the board and a disgruntled, vocal crowd learned that neither of those votes ultimately hold any weight.
As the meeting neared an end, 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. Monday’s vote was 4-1 in favor of approving the second of two noise ordinance amendments that were put forward during the meeting, with Commissioner Gary “Hippie” Westmoreland the lone holdout.
“You could vote on it at your next meeting and it could pass by majority vote, but at this time it can’t pass as it stands,” Hass said.
The 11th-hour reversal was one in a series of twists during what was one of the county’s most contentious public forums yet over noise from crypto mining operations.
The forum began with board Chair Dan Eichenbaum announcing that representatives of Ankr/Exponential Digital originally intended to attend the forum, which was initially scheduled for April 4. According to Eichenbaum, that forum was postponed once it became known that Commissioner Jan Griggs would be forced to miss it due to a death in the family.
In the meantime, Ankr / Exponential Digital officials rescinded their decision to send someone to the meeting, following a power outage at their site in Ranger.
“When (the outage) was investigated, it was found out that someone shot, with a gun, one of the (service lines),” Eichenbaum said. “As a result of that, the crypto mining people decided they weren’t going to come.”
Ankr / Exponential Digital instead provided a statement saying they decided not to send a representative “for employee safety.” The statement went on to say that the company “has been diligently working to identify ways to reduce and/or mitigate the sound at the Harshaw Road site.”
The company’s statement did nothing to deter an angry crowd that frequently shouted at commissioners.
Although the public comment portion of the meeting is typically limited to three minutes per person, local resident Lynell Morris engaged in about 20 minutes of verbal sparring with the commissioners and county attorney Darryl Brown. That’s when Griggs made a motion to amend the county’s existing noise ordinance.
“We have been dealing with the crypto mine since October, and it’s time for us to do something,” she said.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Cal Stiles.
“If this is passed, then it will affect all the industry in Cherokee County,” Commissioner Gary “Hippie” Westmoreland said.
Morris argued that the crypto mine noise generated by Ankr/Exponential Digital is the only noise that is “sustained” in the county.
“If there was going to be an amendment to the ordinance, I would’ve appreciated it if somebody would have told me something ahead of time,” Brown said. “The reason our noise ordinance doesn’t work now has a whole lot to do with the fact that there are so many words in it that are nebulous and open to interpretation.”
Brown also said the punishment for a violation of the noise ordinance remains a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a $50 fine per violation. He said the noise ordinance does not specify what period of time constitutes an individual violation.
“There are limitations the state statute puts on how much a fine can be against anyone who violates it,” Brown said.
Griggs called the amendment “a step in the right direction.” She later made a motion to retain an attorney recommended by Cherokee County Citizens Against Crypto Mining.
In a stark contrast to the board’s typical voting alignments, Eichenbaum joined Griggs and Stiles in approving the amended noise ordinance, 3-2, with Westmoreland and Commissioner Randy Phillips opposed. Less than 30 minutes later, the board rescinded that vote and voted 4-1 to approve more specific wording crafted by Brown during the course of the meeting. Phillips voted to approve it this time, with Westmoreland still opposed. Hass later informed the board that the vote was invalid.
The noise ordinance amendment can be approved at the commissioners’ May 2 meeting with another majority vote. It states:
“It shall be unlawful and strictly prohibited for any person, operation or facility to emit sound from said operation or facility that shall cause the ambient sound to exceed a continuous and sustained A rated sound level of 50 decibels as measured at any point not on the property of the person, operation or facility emitting the sound.”