CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (KTIV) – A second data processing center, better known as a Bitcoin mine, could be on the way to Woodbury County if approved by county officials next week.
Bitcoin mines have proved controversial across the United States and right here in Siouxland. They’re big customers for electric companies, and they add to the tax base. But they can be loud and bothersome to rural residents looking for peace and quiet.
The Woodbury County Board of Adjustment will vote on a permit for the project at 6 p.m. next Monday, Aug. 5 in the basement of the county courthouse.
Right now in the county, off a quiet gravel road outside Salix, Iowa, there is a Bitcoin mine that hums behind an electrical substation. By our measurement, the decibels read between 50 and 70 near the road. That’s about the level of a normal conversation.
Soon, a second mine could be on the way and this one could be closer to rural homes.
“It appears, at least with these two in Woodbury County, that they tend to like to locate them near those utility substations,” said Daniel Priestley, Woodbury County’s zoning coordinator.
The second Bitcoin mine would be located at 170th Street and Kossuth Avenue, west of Correctionville and south of Highway 20. Priestley says the nearest home would be about 1,100 feet away from the site. However, under county rules, only landowners within 500 feet are notified by mail of a conditional use request.
Over in Stanton County, Nebraska, some homeowners there live farther away from a larger mine, and they complain of nearly non-stop frustration from the noise.
“And we encourage all concerned citizens to come forward and offer input, anybody that’s experienced these before,” said Priestley.
Woodbury County doesn’t have a specific ordinance when it comes to Bitcoin mines, so the applicants, AUR Correctionville, and the landowners, Ashley Acres Family Limited Partnership, will need to request a conditional use permit.
If a mining company just needs a conditional use permit then the final say goes to the appointed members of the Board of Adjustment but if a mining company needs to actually rezone the land the mine sits on then the final say is given to the elected Woodbury County Board of Supervisors.
The mine already passed through the advisory Woodbury County Zoning Commission. According to commission documents, county staff said “it will be essential” to minimize noises coming from the facility. The commission is the first step in receiving a conditional use permit, though the board of adjustment is free to vote down the permit even after it’s approved by the commission.
In other words, the commission gives a recommendation to the board of adjustment.
Other than noise, county staff didn’t find any other factors that would impact the neighborhood, traffic, parking or utilities. Staff did recommend the use of security fencing and lighting to protect the project.
The applicants wrote the site will employ two full-time technicians earning $26 per hour, with housing and healthcare provided by AUR Correctionville. The company will also offer internships to students at local colleges and use local contractors to build the site.
“There will not be disruption to the land, neighborhood or surrounding property,” AUR Correctionville wrote in its application. “The location of the site is directly beside the substation, (and) the land is not utilized in farming culture.”
AUR Correctionville noted the land is currently zoned as agricultural, meaning it has no neighborhood or historic features. The company does not need to re-zone the land, just earn a conditional use permit.
Priestley said Woodbury County’s elected officials could choose to make a specific Bitcoin mine ordinance if enough interest was generated.
The Bitcoin mine in Stanton County, which has generated complaints, is larger than the current mine near Salix and the proposed mine near Correctionville. While the decibels in Salix registered between 50-70 on Monday, the decibels reached as high as 88 at the site in Stanton County earlier this year.
Two storage containers would be placed at the site near Correctionville, and two appear on site near Salix, while roughly 10 are on site in Stanton.
According to Carnegie Mellon University, Bitcoin miners solve difficult math problems to create blocks, which are just groups of transactions. Once the miner solves the math problems first, the transactions inside of those blocks are now cemented in time, verifying the transactions as valid.
For their efforts, miners are awarded Bitcoin which can be traded for U.S. dollars, or other currency.
According to the conditional use application, the mine would even the supply and demand of power near the adjacent electrical substation.
Priestley encourages all Woodbury County residents to monitor the zoning commission and adjustment board to remain aware of changes to their neighborhood because while the elected supervisors are the most public face of county government, they aren’t the only part.
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