Harrison Mayor Opposes Cryptomining Site
Saturday, April 29, 2023
By Harrison Mayor Jerry Jackson
Why I am not in favor of approving crypto mining in our community:
I wish I could have spoken about this earlier; however, it would be improper of me to encourage a member of our Planning Commission to vote a certain way outside of a public forum.
Tuesday, April 25, at 1 p.m., the regular monthly Planning Commission meeting was held and chaired by Commission Chairman Pat Brown. While Mr. Brown was only recently named chairperson, he is a longtime veteran of the commission. The commission also includes three newly appointed members and this was their first regular monthly Planning Commission meeting. They and the other commissioners are well respected, long-time community members who have dealt with complex issues.
The meeting was attended by over 200 people from Harrison and surrounding areas. Most everyone was very respectful, which is greatly appreciated by both me and the commission. The public hearing and meeting lasted approximately three and a half hours. Following the close of public comments, the Planning Commission voted to move any further consideration of the requested Conditional Use Permit for a crypto-mining facility to the next regular monthly meeting. This was done to allow commission members more time to review comments received and research concerns that were expressed. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 23. We are currently making arrangements for an alternate location that will provide more capacity to accommodate a larger than usual turnout.
Last summer, I learned of the potential for a crypto-mining facility in our area but knew very little about it. As time went on, I tried to learn more; however, the proposed location was believed to be in the county and outside of the City’s Zoning jurisdiction. It appeared that the project would move forward because there are no zoning regulations or restrictions in the county.
On Friday, March 3, research into past ordinances revealed that the property had actually been annexed into the City of Harrison in 1999. I can only speculate about why mapping and parcel records weren’t updated to reflect the annexation, but the bottom line is that the property was then known to be within the City’s jurisdiction and that Green Digital would now need to comply with City of Harrison codes and requirements.
First and foremost, the proposed development must meet current Zoning Code requirements. Neither a “crypto-currency mining facility” nor “data center” are “listed” uses in the current Zoning Code. As such, a determination must be made if the proposed use is going to be permitted or not. The Conditional Use Permit review we are currently going through is the most appropriate process to make that determination.
I have three major concerns that I believe have not been adequately addressed:
– Noise Concerns: I did view the CNN video that created many concerns, but after visiting a similar facility in Newport, I realized that what they have planned is different from the video. The noise level was not nearly as loud as that on the video; however, I still can’t say for sure how it will affect homes and properties directly across the road or very near the proposed facility.
– Power Concerns: The proposed facility will use 10 megawatts of electricity; I am told that we have 12 megawatts available. I am also told that if our community requires additional power during peak usage time, Entergy will require Green Digital to shut down so that sufficient power is available for the community. My concern here is that I am not hearing this directly from Entergy.
– Environmental Concerns: I have heard many environmental concerns beyond noise; but I am not sure of the facts surrounding these concerns and that is a problem. We need to learn more.
With that being said, it really hurts me when I hear people say that public officials are “lining their pockets.” I know for certain that every elected official in town is doing what they do for the love of our city and community.
There are so many great things happening in our community and I look forward to getting back to working on the positive and resolving this very difficult situation.
On April 21, Mayor Jackson put out the following official statement:
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