Bitcoin mining data center condemned after leaking 3 million gallons of water and forcing school closures — facility operated for years under a city stop-work order
A Bitcoin mining data center in El Reno, Oklahoma, has been condemned after it leaked 3 million gallons of water, reports Koco TV News. Schools, businesses, and city and county offices were all closed last week due to the leak.
According to the source report, the Athlon Blockchain LLC-owned data center shouldn’t even have been operating, as the city issued it a Stop Work Order in 2023 due to “multiple fire and life safety code violations as well as the expiration of the building and electrical permits that had previously been issued.” The city asserts that none of the costs related to the water leak at the property will be passed on to citizens, according to the source.
We don’t know whether the Bitcoin mining data center development went ahead despite the Stop Work Order in 2023 due to ignorance or a devil-may-care attitude toward regulation. Koco reports that the owner of the property was given until the end of 2023 to comply with safety codes and obtain new permits, while construction should have been put on hold. Now it is believed that the firm building the facility set up the data center and began operations without any further consultation with the city. Perhaps the owners thought they could sidestep the Stop Work Order by housing the data center in an array of shipping containers.
Clearly, regulators should check that codes, directives, and ordinances are obeyed. This incident shows a disastrous leak from an insufficiently policed operator with serious repercussions for local citizens. Thus, the city has now committed to routinely reviewing compliance. As for the waste and costs involved in this case, a statement on behalf of the city says it is “preparing to take the necessary legal actions to recoup all costs and expenses related to the water leak from the property owner, including city resources expended in locating and addressing the leak.”
There has been a lot of controversy recently regarding data center usage of water. Concerns have been heightened due to widespread drought conditions in the Northern Hemisphere this summer.
