Vote to block oil pipeline set
An ordinance representing Memphis City Council’s best shot at halting construction of a section of a crude oil pipeline that would snake underground through South Memphis properties will be up for a final vote April 20.
The ordinance, drafted in response to the proposed Byhalia Connection pipeline, has drawn concerns from council members about a potential legal showdown between Memphis City Council and Plains All American, the pipeline operator. Litigation concerns aside, the substitute resolution passed unanimously in committee before moving on to the full council.
If approved, the ordinance would give city council oversight of approving construction of new infrastructure, including pipelines and subterra
nean storage of hazardous materials, that poses an environmental risk to the city’s drinking water. Additionally, the ordinance adds a provision that would require a stronger degree of Memphis, Light, Gas & Water oversight since a section of the Byhalia pipeline runs through an MLGW well field.
Proponents of the ordinance say it would also name a regulatory agency — Memphis City Council — charged with oversight of the health of the Memphis Sands aquifer, and by extension, the city’s drinking water supply.
“We don’t have any law, anywhere, that specifically says the state law protects the aquifer,” said City Councilman Jeff Warren, the ordinance’s sponsor.
“Because we are the governmental body, that by the fact that no one else has written a law on it... we have to do it,” he said.
City Council Attorney Allan Wade previously cautioned members of the Public Works, Solid Waste and General Services Committee the measure would likely draw litigation from Plains All American at the first sign of disagreement from the council’s legal interpretation of the ordinance.
City of Memphis attorney Jennifer Sink, also tasked with looking into legal options available to the city to stop construction, said Tuesday there was no further updates about what those options may be.
As city officials continue to weigh options, the movement to stop the construction of the pipeline continues to gather support in activist and environmental spheres. The national profile of the issue received a boost from Al Gore, who spoke at a March rally organized by Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, the grassroots organization that has spearheaded community involvement. Other celebrities, including Jane Fonda, have also weighed in the environmental justice component of the issue.
And, a lawsuit filed by three environmental advocacy groups — the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club, and Protect Our Aquifer, alleges the Army Corps of Engineers did not fulfill its requirements under the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act to assess potential impacts to the Memphis drinking water supply before granting the necessary federal permit for the project in February.
Plains has said the company plans to be in Memphis long-term, and has committed more than 10,000 hours of studying the unique conditions of the aquifer to understand every hydrogeological nuance.
They’ve also described their operational oversight as robust in an attempt to reassure community members they will be diligently checking the status and conditions of the crude oil pipe.
Warren, among others, does not buy that Plains can guarantee the pipeline will never falter.
“It’s not a question of if but when the pipeline is going to break, it’s a question of when. And running it over the aquifer...doesn’t make much sense,” Warren said. “I want them to try and find alternative ways or places to route this around the aquifer entirely.”