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Residents of a rural North Texas community have lost their campaign to incorporate their town in a bid to regulate persistent noise from the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility, according to election results announced Tuesday night.
Roughly 62% of 138 voters rejected the proposal to form a new city near the site, effectively ending a year-long push by locals who say the constant roar from the massive Mara Texas Bitcoin facility has upended their quiet way of life.
The vote, conducted across eleven polling centers, was part of a broader ballot with over 17 local initiatives. Despite the defeat, residents say they will continue seeking ways to reduce industrial noise from the site, which has become one of the region’s most contentious crypto-related developments.
“Although we took a loss here, we are going to move forward and continue to do what we can to not let industry take over Hood County,” — Danny Lakey, local resident.
Complaints began shortly after MARA Holdings—formerly known as Marathon Digital—constructed the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility in 2022. The operation, which powers roughly 60,000 mining computers, uses heavy-duty industrial fans for cooling. Locals say the constant hum and whir have shattered the peace in their rural neighborhood.
In response to mounting pressure, MARA Holdings invested millions of dollars in noise-mitigation measures, including the construction of a 2,000-foot-long, 24-foot-tall sound wall and the introduction of an immersion cooling system to replace many of the site’s fans. The company claims that 67% of the cooling fans have now been replaced with liquid-based technology.
Despite those upgrades, residents argue that the noise remains intrusive. Some have used decibel meters to record readings near their homes that fall just below the state limit of 85 decibels.
A county-funded third-party study, however, found that noise levels were generally lower than residents claimed—between 35 and 53 decibels in homes within a mile of the plant and around 60 decibels at the facility itself.
According to The Texas Tribune, counties in Texas lack the authority to enforce noise ordinances, prompting residents to propose city incorporation as a means of regulating the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility.
The proposed city of Mitchell Bend—spanning roughly two square miles with about 600 residents—was intended to give the community the legal tools to adopt local noise laws.
The campaign to incorporate the area divided the community. Some residents argued that forming a city would bring unnecessary bureaucracy and defeat the purpose of living in the countryside. Others insisted it was the only way to confront the noise from the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility.
“Residents are hoping to have some tools to fight the noise a little,” — Danny Lakey, Hood County resident.
While some locals saw incorporation as a path toward control and quiet, others viewed it as a threat to the rural lifestyle they had sought by leaving the cities. The internal division ultimately contributed to the ballot’s failure.
MARA Holdings, which operates at least three Bitcoin mining sites across Texas, welcomed the defeat of the city incorporation measure.
A company representative said executives were “pleased that voters in Hood County recognized the sham incorporation attempt and rejected it at the polls.”
The spokesperson reaffirmed MARA’s commitment to being a responsible corporate neighbor, noting that the firm has invested heavily in technological improvements since acquiring the site in 2024.
“Independent sound studies, including one conducted by the Hood County government, have verified that the plant operates well below county and state legal sound limitations,” — MARA Holdings representative.
The failed vote comes after a series of legal battles between residents and MARA Holdings. In October, the company filed a lawsuit to halt the election, arguing that incorporation would harm its operations. The suit accused Hood County officials of “colluding” with residents to stage an “illegal” vote.
However, Judge Reed O’Connor rejected MARA’s request for a preliminary injunction, stating that the company failed to demonstrate a “major risk of irreversible injury.” The court ruled that allowing the election to proceed was not against the public interest.
For now, the outcome leaves residents without local legal tools to curb the noise from the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility. With county officials unable to enforce sound limits, further legal or political action may be the community’s only recourse.
Meanwhile, MARA Holdings maintains that it has complied with all regulations and will continue engaging with locals to address their concerns. The dispute underscores the broader tension between Texas’ booming crypto-mining industry and rural communities grappling with its environmental and social footprint.
As the hum of thousands of Bitcoin mining rigs continues to echo across Hood County, the debate over the Mara Texas Bitcoin facility has become a symbol of the growing friction between economic innovation and local quality of life in America’s crypto heartland.
