Casey Wagner

Time is running out for counties in Arkansas to pass noise ordinances before new crypto mining legislation takes effect on Aug. 1.&nbsp;



Act 851, known as the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, passed the state’s House and Senate in April and was signed into law by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders shortly after.



Under the <a href="https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT851.pdf">law</a>, local governments may not “enact or adopt an ordinance, policy, or action that limits the sound decibels generated from home digital asset mining other than the limits set for sound pollution generally.”&nbsp;



The act, which considers mining operations to be “data centers,” also requires mining sites to follow state tax laws and safety regulations and “operate in a manner that causes no stress on economic public utility’s generation capabilities.”&nbsp;



Arkansas State Senator Bryan King said he hopes Gov. Sanders will call a special session to repeal the new law. Arkansas is one of four states on a biennial legislature schedule, meaning state lawmakers only meet for regular sessions every other year.&nbsp;



“We&#8217;ve got to have a real discussion on the possible grid and economic impacts,” King told Blockworks. “What if 20 crypto mining facilities pop up in Arkansas in the next year? What does that do to another employer that wants to come into Arkansas and we don&#8217;t have the power?”&nbsp;



Act 851 does not put any restrictions on power usage, which King said should be a top concern, given Arkansas’s grid is already stretched thin, especially in the summer months.&nbsp;



Those in favor of the law argue that creating a crypto hub will be beneficial for the state.&nbsp;



“Data centers create jobs, pay taxes, and provide general economic value to local communities and this state,” the bill reads.&nbsp;



The law moved through the legislative process very quickly; only a week went by between the day the bill was introduced and the day it passed through the House and Senate.&nbsp;



In the House, the bill passed 93-1, and in the Senate it received 33 votes in favor – including King – and 0 votes against. King said the entire process was too rushed as the end of the session was approaching, plus there was a rule suspension the day of the vote, causing the bill to “slip through.”&nbsp;



If Sanders calls a special session to revisit the law, a two-thirds majority is needed in both houses to repeal.&nbsp;



Crypto miners have flocked to Arkansas in the past two years, attracted to the state’s cheap electricity and lenient zoning requirements.&nbsp;



About a dozen crypto mining facilities now operate in the state, and not all counties and city councils are happy about it.&nbsp;



Last month, in Vilonia, Arkansas, the city’s planning commission revoked a company’s permit to build a crypto mine. The company, Vilo AR LLC failed to submit site plans, which is why the permit was revoked, planning commission member Jonathan Pyron told Blockworks. Vilo’s permit revocation was not related to noise concerns, Pyron added.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Vilonia also moved to limit noise to 60 decibels, about the intensity level of normal conversation. Most single mining machines produce between 70 and 90 decibels of sound, <a href="https://noisebarrierwalls.com/applications/crypto-and-bitcoin-mining-noise-reduction/#:~:text=A%20single%20bitcoin%20mining%20rig,requires%20a%20more%20robust%20solution.">experts</a> say. Plus, larger operations require cooling systems to prevent the computers from overheating, adding to the mining process’ noise level. 



The law comes as states across the country continue to take an <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-crypto-mining-regulation-states">active role in regulating crypto mining operations</a>. Arkansas’ Act 851 is similar to <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billpdf/SB0178.pdf">Montana’s SB0178</a>, which also requires crypto mining operations to be treated as data centers and was signed into law in May.



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Time is running out for Arkansas locals to pass crypto mining noise ordinances

Ben Strack

Bills in Arkansas and Montana that focus on crypto mining have passed in recent days, while legislation in other states remain in the ratification process.&nbsp;



While some of the proposed or passed pieces of legislation seek to protect the rights of crypto miners, others seek to put certain restrictions on companies operating in the sector.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Where do the bills stand and what’s in them?</h2>



Of the 7 states examined below, most have legislation that is still working its through their political systems, while one, New York, has a crypto mining bill already signed into law.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Arkansas&nbsp;</h3>



The Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/arkansas-crypto-mining-bill">passed by the state’s House and Senate</a> last week, seeks to protect miners from discrimination.



The <a href="https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FBills%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FHB1799.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">law</a> prohibits a local government from imposing requirements for crypto miners that differ from those applicable to data centers, such as rezoning areas to unfairly target such businesses. 



It also says the Arkansas Public Service Commission, which regulates the state’s utilities, is not allowed to establish “an unreasonably discriminatory rate” for crypto mining customers.



The act must be signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders before it becomes law.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Montana&nbsp;</h3>



Montana’s House of Representatives <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/montana-mining-bill-passes-house">passed a similar bill</a> to Arkansas’s miner-friendly legislation on Wednesday.&nbsp;



It now heads to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk for final approval.&nbsp;



The bill allows industrial and at-home miners to conduct their business free from government interference, noting that crypto mining “provides positive economic value” for people and companies in the US.



Like the Arkansas law, Montana’s bill requires the government to treat crypto miners no different from data centers.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Missouri and Mississippi</h3>



Proposed laws in Missouri and Mississippi, like the bills in Arkansas and Montana, look to offer protection for crypto miners.&nbsp;&nbsp;



First proposed in January, the Missouri bill would similarly limit actions the state can take against such activities, such as prohibiting its Public Service Commission from setting discriminatory rates for a digital asset mining business.



It also looks to stop the state from prohibiting the running of nodes for crypto mining at private residences, according to a bill <a href="https://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills231/sumpdf/HB0764I.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">summary</a>.



Mississippi&#8217;s proposed <a href="http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2023/pdf/SB/2600-2699/SB2603PS.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">law</a> brings up similar language to the Arkansas and Montana bills in that it would block the state from treating miners differently than data centers.



The Missouri bill was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/missouri-protects-crypto-mining">passed by the state’s House</a> on March 7, but appears to have stalled.&nbsp;



The Mississippi bill passed the state Senate in February but <a href="http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2023/pdf/votes/house/0650013.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failed</a> to pass during a House of Representatives vote last month. 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Texas</h3>



Texas Senate Bill 1751 would prohibit tax abatements on certain bitcoin mining property and set limits on miners’ participation in demand response programs.&nbsp;



The type of demand response the Texas bill would impact is ancillary services — where bitcoin miners, in this case, sell the right to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to curtail miner load as it sees fit to balance the grid.



Riot Platforms, a miner operating in the state, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/riot-dislikes-texas-mining-bill">called the bill “misguided”</a> and argued that it would lead to a more expensive and less reliable energy grid.&nbsp;



In a Wednesday <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/SatoshiActFund/status/1646344816576593920" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a> to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, leaders of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Texas Blockchain Council and the Satoshi Action Fund, wrote that the bill  would have “devastating impacts on Texas’ leadership role in the digital economy and could have unintended consequences on the state’s energy security.” 



Introduced last month, the Texas Senate voted to approve the bill on Wednesday. The bill now heads to the state’s House of Representatives.



Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher told Blockworks he believes Texas Senate Bill 1751 will “struggle to gain traction” in the House due to its “anti-competitive nature.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Fred Thiel, CEO of crypto miner Marathon Digital, previously said he didn’t think the law would pass the House, noting he expects “sane heads will prevail.”&nbsp;



Analysts at Compass Point Research &amp; Trading wrote in an April 10 research note that even if the proposal passes the Senate and House, they believe Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would veto it.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Oregon</h3>



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/oregon-weighing-crypto-miner-carbon-crackdown">An Oregon bill</a> introduced in January would require facilities with high energy use, including those involved in crypto mining, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.



Amazon had lobbied against the bill from the start of discussions, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/04/amazon-climate-energy-fuel-oregon/?email=467cb6399cb7df64551775e431052b43a775c749&amp;emaila=12a6d4d069cd56cfddaa391c24eb7042&amp;emailb=054528e7403871c79f668e49dd3c44b1ec00c7f611bf9388f76bb2324d6ca5f3&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=04.05.23%20Energy%20%26%20Environment%20JB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> earlier this month, essentially killing it.



The tech giant “successfully nurtured fear that our energy requirements would drive away the development of data centers,” Oregon state Rep. Pam Marsh told the news outlet.



The bill would have set up specific emissions reduction targets in the years ahead — such as lowering emissions by 60% below their baseline current levels by 2027 — and required operators of such facilities to provide proof of compliance via annual reports to the Department of Environmental Quality.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Violations were to result in a $12,000 penalty per megawatt-hour in violation for each day not in compliance.



A public hearing related to the proposal was held on March 20. Those set to <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/266037" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">testify</a> in support included leaders from Southern Oregon Climate Action Now and the NW Energy Coalition, while people from the Economic Development for Central Oregon and the Data Center Coalition were slated to speak in opposition of the measure.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">New York</h3>



A <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/new-york-passes-bill-restricting-carbon-fueled-crypto-mining-operations">crypto mining-related bill in New York</a> is unique in that it is no longer pending.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A7389" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">law</a>, which paused crypto mining operations that use proof-of-work methods to validate blockchain transactions, was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul last November. 



The bill prevents the state from approving such operations that depend on carbon-based power for two years, noting that such crypto miners “impact compliance” with New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.



Kristin Smith, executive director of Blockchain Association, had said before it was signed that the bill would have “a significant chilling effect on crypto mining in the state,” adding that it could send hundreds of jobs to other states.



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