HAWKINS CO., Tenn., (WJHL) – In January, the crypto company ExoticRidge received construction permits from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation after the Hawkins County commission banned data and crypto mining in Sept. 2024.
The TDEC permit states that the proposed facility’s mechanics do not affect air quality around the build site at 1496 Highway 66 in Bulls Gap.
“[The facility is] fairly minimal,” said CEO Will Daughtery. “The construction permit through TDEC is really just for the natural gas generators we would have on the site, so it allows us to pour the foundations that they would ultimately rest on and hook them up to the gas sources and electric outputs.”
The September ban, originally intended to prevent ExoticRidge from establishing itself in Hawkins County, is not fully enforceable. Hawkins County has no construction permits and no zoning authority.
Hawkins County Mayor Mark DeWitte said the closest legal authority they had at the time to ban data and crypto mining was a noise ordinance.
“The county attorney and I were working on possibly doing a noise ordinance resolution,” he said. “That one ended up not getting introduced by the commissioner that was going to introduce it. He introduced one that banned cryptocurrency mining and data centers in Hopkins County. We don’t have zoning, so we can’t do that. That’s not really even enforceable because we don’t have zoning. You can’t ban just one industry.”
The possible noise ordinance falls under the County Powers Act, allowing Hawkins County to adopt regulations regarding land use and potential nuisances; however, a noise ban was never formally introduced, and the overall ban is not enforceable, something ExoticRidge has acknowledged.
“The ban doesn’t affect our ability to construct as it relates to these generators in particular,” said Daughtery. “We have been, since the ban was put in place, been working towards an amicable resolution with the county that would allow us to operate. I think everybody would realize that there’s a wasted product here that could be put to use.”
Since the September meeting, ExoticRidge has made slight alterations to their original layout, such as limiting the amount of noise that may disturb neighbors of the site. The facility would run on ethane with natural gas as a backup fuel.
Additionally, Daughtery said they have been listening to citizen concerns.
“I think a lot of the concerns that we’ve been made aware of are with categorically different types of facilities than what we’re talking about here, primarily in size,” he said. “There’s a lot of sound going on here. There’s a flare that goes on 24/7 emitting that sound, emitting light, and we can do something with that and get it into a place where we can actually reduce the sound, hopefully for neighbors and hopefully eliminate the light entirely.” And again, on a scale that that doesn’t match what’s been put out there. And, social media.”
DeWitte said he has not received many updates from ExoticRidge until the commission received a proposed settlement from the company.
According to a press release from ExoticRidge, the settlement states the county incorrectly invoked its County Powers Act at a meeting in September last year, banning the facility, and Tennessee law prohibits local governments from impairing development rights where a party has incurred substantial obligations prior to a regulatory change.
“[ExoticRidge] started trying to figure out a way that they could convince the commission to even consider allowing them to move forward,” DeWitte said. “They drafted a proposed agreement, which our attorney looked at, did some changes, and we went back and forth on it. And I felt like the commission needed to at least see it to see if it what they wanted to introduce it.”
DeWitte called an executive session of the commission to discuss the settlement and how they wanted to move forward as a local government. He added that just because he called a private, executive session concerning the agreement, it does not mean he is in favor of or against the proposal.
“I’m not bound to [Exoticridge’s] pressure,” he said. “But at the same time, I’m trying to balance how to handle that pressure and not have them immediately take us to court and get the county involved in something that I don’t think county wants to be involved in.”
DeWitte and Daughtery confirm that, since the settlement was presented, the commission and company have been in communication regarding ExoticRidge’s layouts and plans moving forward.
The settlement is on the agenda for the Feb. 23 Hawkins County Commission meeting.
“There are any number of things that could happen,” DeWitte said. “It could fail for lack of a second. There could be discussion and they decide to table it, postpone it. Any number of things could happen. If it actually comes to a vote, which I think it’s not got a real good chance of doing that, but it could. If it comes to a vote, my guess is that it will be shot down. Which, I hate for that to happen. We need to keep the channels of communications open.”
Daughtery said construction on a facility in Bull’s Gap has not started. There are still many factors to sort out with commissioners.
“We’ve chatted with, in particular, several county leaders about a way forward, not just for us, but perhaps a better form of resolution here,” he said. “That’s certainly dependent on, on, our conversations with, with county leaders and, and our interaction with them and, and to be determined.”
You can read the full statement from ExoticRidge below:
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