Written by: Gilbert Barnes Carter III

I took a point of personal privilege as a community organizer and social justice advocate to draft a new joint ordinance after Memphis City Council representatives—with the exception of Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton—failed to deny the sale of 13 acres of previously city-owned property in Whitehaven to CTC Property, LLC and xAI on March 18. This denial would have been advantageous for many concerned citizens across South and Southwest Memphis who rightfully and vehemently oppose the impending expansion by xAI officials without their input and participation in the political process.

The unofficial title of the joint ordinance is the Citizens' Environmental Integrity Act. I intend to establish the following safeguards for citizens across South and Southwest Memphis through future legislation. It is important to note that the work is centered around their demands and input. I also want for disruptive, forceful, and retroactive measures to be taken against companies such as—but not limited to—the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Valero over time. For additional context, operations began at the former TVA Allen Fossil Plant in 1959 and at the Valero crude oil refinery in 1941, respectively.

1. We must always maintain and increase our public health equity.

   *The highest rate of pediatric asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits in the state of Tennessee is in Shelby County. Pollution is being carried out brazenly by companies at a minimum of 17 toxic release locations across South and Southwest Memphis.

   The social determinants of health have been ignored and undermined for decades in Memphis and Shelby County.

   KeShaun Pearson, the president of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), addressed Shelby County Commissioners during their committee meeting on March 26. He moderated a well-attended fireside chat with Memphis Mayor Paul Young at Riverside Missionary Baptist Church on March 22. He described the connection between the health of schoolchildren and the natural environment. The natural environment is a major social determinant of health.

   "The air that these children are breathing in is a cause of them missing school. Shelby County has the highest rate of youth with asthma in our entire state. And that is not by mistake. It's by design. Our children are missing more school because we are in a public health crisis."

2. We must always maintain and protect our physical environmental integrity.

   The Memphis Sand Aquifer is a marvel among natural features and resources. It has rested beneath us at an approximate depth of 1,500 feet for roughly 67 million years, across modern-day sections of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Nature has nestled it between at least two layers of clay and what is known as the "shallow aquifer." Memphians rely on 100% of our local groundwater supply. Memphis is the largest major American city where citizens rely 100% on local groundwater. 95% of it is sourced from the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

   There is no need for our local groundwater to be extracted. Citizens have incessantly made the specific demand for greywater and/or wastewater to be treated and utilized for all data center operations.

3. We must provide more opportunities for all citizens in Memphis and Shelby County to participate in the political process.

   Memphis City Council committee meetings are currently held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 8:30 a.m. Memphis-Shelby County Land Use Control Board meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month at 9:00 a.m. It is counterintuitive for Memphis City Council representatives to appraise and deliberate during committee meetings largely outside of the purview of the general public.

The vast majority of Memphians cannot have any civic or political engagement at 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday or 9:00 a.m. on a Thursday.

KeShaun Pearson emphasized how problematic the lack of participation is.

"I come to you today after an amazing event with our city mayor, Paul Young, where we had the opportunity to discuss xAI and their failure to include the public in their process. And what has happened is that the Shelby County Health Department has an opportunity to change that precedent."

There is a direct correlation between low political participation and low political transparency.

Two of the most culpable groups—the Greater Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce and the Memphis Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) Board—are currently operating with subtle impunity.

4. We must have unprecedented legislation for the regulation of "category-specific" and commercial data centers in Memphis and Shelby County.

   Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department, urged Shelby County Commissioners to consider amending the current zoning legislation during the March 26 committee meeting. It is important to note that the first municipal land zoning legislation in the United States was drafted and codified in Memphis in 1922.

   Sadly, the current local zoning ordinances are still based on a map that has not been properly updated since 1955.

   The current local zoning ordinances are specific leverage points.

   Dr. Taylor stated, "Many of our current laws pertaining to zoning in our county are still dependent on zoning maps from the 1950s."

   The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an amended resolution to "urge the Shelby County Health Department, local, state, and federal elected officials to host a public hearing prior to the approval or denial of the permit submitted by CTC Property, LLC, an affiliate of xAI, for the long term operations of 15 methane gas turbines in South Memphis" during their meeting on March 31.

   There is no requirement for groups or individuals to appear before the Memphis City Council if their respective land use plans are approved by the members of the Memphis-Shelby County Land Use Control Board first. I have identified that as another specific leverage point for companies such as CTC Property, LLC and xAI to use to minimize local political will and social resistance especially when environmental degradation is a byproduct of their operations.

   The Citizens' Environmental Integrity Act is preemptive and proactive in nature. In the largest predominantly Black major American city, we must be better prepared politically and socially to maintain and protect all of our natural wonders. It is also important for citizens all across Memphis to lean into the additional liberation that we have gained from environmental justice victories such as the citizen-led effort that prevented the construction of a biomass facility in the Vollintine-Evergreen community; the citizen-led effort that prevented Plains All American, L.P. and Valero executives and officials from constructing a large and long section of a proposed crude oil pipeline through the Boxtown and Westwood communities officially on July 2, 2021; and the citizen-led effort to close the former Sterilization Services of Tennessee location at 2396 Florida Street officially on April 30, 2024.

   Our environmental future will be far more promising with robust public health equity, physical environmental integrity, political process participation, and unprecedented legislation for the regulation of category-specific and commercial data centers in Memphis and Shelby County.

   It was not long ago that Memphis was featured in Time Magazine as the cleanest American city for 17 consecutive years.

   It is not too ambitious for us to reset that environmental standard on behalf of generations of local children to come after us.

*Source - Shelby County Health Department