A mostly unremarkable quiet Montessori charter school tucked away in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has begun to animate a fierce debate. The subject matter? How to regulate cryptocurrency mines. Lake Superior Academy, a K-5 school known for its innovative outdoor education program, had a peaceful setting — until March. That’s when a mega-scale crypto mine opened just across the street, turning their peaceful home life upside down. The mine’s significant noise pollution has interrupted children’s schooling. Governments have taken it upon themselves to regulate, which in turn has led to lawsuits and raised key issues about how municipalities should be handling future industries.

All of that has revealed a growing chasm between technology creation and community health. As Michigan is confronted by the expanding footprint of crypto mines, it must contend with reactionary environmental harms that these operations extract. If current legislation passes, it will be much easier for new mines to open. The situation at Lake Superior Academy illustrates the importance of detailed regulations and active community engagement.

School Files Lawsuit Over Noise Levels

Lake Superior Academy, located in Dafter Township, filed a lawsuit against the crypto mine, citing excessive noise levels that disrupted the learning environment. After multiple tense hearings, the Chippewa County Circuit Court issued the school a temporary restraining order, shutting down the mine’s operations.

According to court documents, the mine resulted in noise levels surpassing 70 decibels. That’s about as noisy as a vacuum cleaner or active city road traffic! The school even had to cancel outdoor recess and other activities because the noise was so disruptive.

"The noise is what is impacting the school.” - Susie Schlehuber

Susie Schlehuber, the principal of the academy. So does Dafter Township noise ordinance, capping sound at 50 decibels. Yet while its intent is clear, it only applies to wind turbines, creating an inadvertent but major loophole for expanding crypto mines and data centers. The out of school suspension gap is $0.

A Growing Industry in Michigan

Michigan is home to at least four large-scale crypto mines. Three of these proposed mines would be located in the Upper Peninsula, with one located near Kalamazoo. These mines operate as global supercomputers. They consume tremendous amounts of energy to crack complex mathematics equations and win cryptocurrency prizes.

>Cloverland Electric Cooperative currently energizes three crypto mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One of these mines is right next to Lake Superior Academy. The impacts The energy use associated with these mines is enormous. It currently takes mining a single Bitcoin as much electricity as the average U.S. household uses in 41 days.

Crypto mines are opening at an astonishing rate across Michigan. This boom poses questions about their environmental footprint and the stress they place on local power systems. While some see crypto mining as a potential economic opportunity, others worry about the potential for noise pollution, energy consumption, and other negative externalities.

The Regulatory Landscape

As it stands right now, Michigan’s state government has no direct regulatory authority over crypto mines. These mines differ dramatically in size, from a computer on someone’s desk to entire warehouses filled with supercomputers. This huge gap in regulation has put local governments in a tough position trying to balance the burgeoning industry and the needs and wants of their constituents.

"From what we understand, the zoning for it is pretty ambiguous since it's new and municipalities have not clarified whether crypto mining is industrial, commercial, requires permits or not, treated as a warehouse, etc.,” - Bob Brown

Bob Brown is a township supervisor. Pending legislation in Michigan may have the unfortunate effect of making the regulatory patchwork even worse. It could open up much of the state to crypto mines – even allowing them on orphaned natural gas wells.

It’s an issue that Andrea Brown, executive director of the American Planning Association Michigan Chapter, notes, is a continuing struggle. Local governments are left flailing, unable to figure out how best to regulate crypto mines. The lack of clear regulations and established best practices has created uncertainty and challenges for communities seeking to balance economic development with environmental protection and quality of life.