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Pierce County commissioners deny LN8 Energy appeal for crypto-mining site in Blackshear
Summary
The Pierce County Board of Commissioners voted July 8 to deny an appeal from LN8 Energy and lessee Tony Waters seeking a conditional use permit for a crypto‑mining operation at 1199 Cason Road; the applicant testified he had spent millions and estimated $34,000 in annual property tax to the county.
Pierce County commissioners denied an appeal by LN8 Energy and lessee Tony Waters on July 8, 2025, rejecting the applicants’ request for a conditional use permit to operate a cryptocurrency‑mining facility at 1199 Cason Road in Blackshear.
Attorney Kenneth Futch, representing LN8 Energy, called company representative Eric Su to testify at the 5:00 p.m. meeting. Su told the board he first inquired at the county front desk about placing a shipping container on the property in January 2024 and said he was told no building permit would be required. He said LN8 Energy later applied for a septic permit and for state storm‑water approval and that a county stop‑work order was issued on Nov. 20, 2024.
Futch summarized the financial stakes the applicants said they have in the project, citing construction and site‑work costs and other expenses. Su gave several estimates during testimony: separate line items he described as $415,000 for construction costs, $280,000 for leveling and groundwork and $180,000 for surveying and related items (together described by counsel as about $870,000 in unrecoverable expenditures), and later in testimony Su or counsel described total spending on the project as about $3.4 million. Futch told the board, “you are going to lose a million dollars, and you were led to believe there were no problems moving forward.”
Su also described technical aspects of the proposed facility, saying the site would house 2,525 computers and that a single month’s power bill could be about $460,000; he estimated the county could receive about $34,000 a year in property tax from the operation. On noise, Su said a consultant measured sound at different distances and concluded it registered about 55 decibels, “it sounds like a dishwasher.”
Chairman Neal Bennett questioned whether LN8 Energy had fully disclosed the scope of the project to county staff, noting a difference between permission to place a single shipping container and the presence of many containers or an expanded facility. Bennett also asked about a separate stop‑work order in Coffee County. The transcript records no county staff contesting the procedural summary the applicants provided; rather, the chair and commissioners sought clarification about what had been communicated to the applicant at the county front desk.
After the applicant’s presentation, Commissioner Troy Mattox moved to deny the appeal; Commissioner David Lowman seconded. The motion carried and the board denied the appeal. The transcript does not record a roll‑call vote tally. Chairman Neal Bennett adjourned the meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The record for the appeal includes exhibits A–E submitted by LN8 Energy and a county timeline of events placed on the record at the hearing.
