Arkansas counties rush to pass noise regulations for crypto miners

Several counties in the US state of Arkansas are rushing to pass new ordinances before August, when crypto-mining facilities will be subject to the same rules as data centers.

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Several counties in the US state of Arkansas are rushing to pass emergency laws allowing them to control noise and other crypto mining-related activities ahead of a new state law taking effect on August 1, according to local media.

The new state law subjects crypto-mining facilities to the same regulations that apply to data centers, creating guidelines for miners and protecting them from discriminatory regulations and taxes. Arkansasians, however, barely had time to discuss the new legislation, which was proposed, discussed in committees and passed by lawmakers in a week, from March 30 to April 7.

State Rep. Rick McClure, who drafted the bill, is quoted as saying that "no one has spoken against this bill in any committee or any legislative body." Arkansas crypto mining companies include Green Digital, GMI Computing, United BitEngine, and Cryptic Farms.

Arkansas Data Center Act of 2023. Source: Arkansas State Legislature.

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Local authorities are enacting more rules to deal with excessive noise complaints around the clock. “I have no problem with crypto mining, just the noise level, the lack of attention to our neighbors,” Faulkner County Quorum Court justice of the peace Kris Kendrick said at a July meeting.

After the bill passed...