State-Funded Bitcoin Data Center Infuriates Montana Locals
Citizens of Bonner have complained to their local council about noise pollution coming from a state-funded data processing center owned by Project Spokane LLC – a blockchain security company.
Also Read: State of Montana Funds Bitcoin Mine to Bolster Local Jobs
“It’s a Horrendous Noise,” Elaine Nagle Who Lives Near the Site Told Local News Outlet, The Missoulian
The initial excitement that surrounded Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s announcement that over $416,00 USD would be distributed to Project Spokane, LLC, a data center that provides blockchain security services for the bitcoin network seems to have dissipated among locals of Bonner.
“It’s a horrendous noise,” Elaine Nagle, who lives near the site told local news outlet, The Missoulian. “We used to have hummingbirds all the time, and we don’t hardly have hummingbirds any more. We’re retired, and we just want to enjoy the years we have left. We can’t even sit outside on our deck anymore.”
Despite local speculation that Project Spokane, LLC may be on its way to becoming the largest data center in North America, councilors have been inundated with complaints of a giant humming noise bellowing at all hours of the day. “It’s driving some people crazy,” stated County Commissioner Jean Curtiss. “It’s kind of like sitting on a tarmac when a jet engine is winding up to take off, but the plane never leaves. It’s like a loud hum.”
Locals are now awaiting the findings of a sound engineer hired by the data center’s owners to assess the problem, with residents being told to expect that a report will be produced in a few weeks.
“The Community Is Glad to Have Development Occurring Across Here” – Jim Miller
Not everyone in Bonner is upset about the data center’s presence though. The superintendent of Bonner School District, Jim Howard, told the Missoulian that “his neighborhood’s had mill noise for a hundred years. I’m sure when it was going full steam some 25 years ago when I was around, it had to have been as noisy or noisier. Noise is evidence of productivity and good things happening here and we want to see that economic development. We’re glad to see good things happening at the mill site and we recognize it’s an industrial site and it’s going to have noise.”
The grant received by Project Spokane was issued on that basis that the company would create 65 new jobs in Bonner through an economic development program designed to reimburse companies brining money into the state from elsewhere within the country and create well-paying jobs locally.
“The community is glad to have development occurring across here” Jim Howard continued. “Nobody in the school has complained. The first I heard there was an issue was when I saw the correspondence related to the community council meeting.”
What do you think about the noise generated after Montana Government funded $416,000 towards the data center? Share your thoughts below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock
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