Bruce Parkhurst
Climate problems may seem overwhelming, but people all around this great nation are taking action. This week we’re looking at TENNESSEE and the question is: How does a community act to protect drinking water directly threatened by a “done deal” oil pipeline project?
By all reports, Memphis, Tennessee sits on some of the best municipal drinking water in the nation. More than a half million Memphis residents get their drinking water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer, a deep groundwater resource that runs hundreds of feet below the city. The ancient ground water is held in layers of coarse-grained sand which acts as natural filtration. Above the aquifer is a layer of clay which, although not without some thin areas, cracks, and holes, protects. This precious resource also sits beneath a shallower aquifer that has been polluted by arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, from a number of coal ash disposal ponds created under the TVA umbrella, the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority, an electric utility whose services touch 7 states. The coal-fired power plant which generated the coal ash slurry for nearly 60 years has been shut down and the TVA is under agreement to remove the coal ash by 2030 to a suitably engineered landfill. That’s a longer story in itself, for another day.
Residents were caught by surprise in 2019 when the Valero Memphis Refinery announced a joint venture with Plains All American Pipeline, to dig a 50-mile conduit to carry crude oil from Memphis to Mississippi. The Byhalia Pipeline would not only cut through a Memphis Sand Aquifer well field but it would also be bulldozed right through predominantly black neighborhoods on the south and west side of the city.
The story of the David vs. Goliath battle between residents and the pipeline interests is covered in a riveting multi-part podcast series called Broken Ground, produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center, available on a number of podcast services. Just search for the Broken Ground podcast, Season 4, which focuses on women’s voices.
Podcast: Broken Ground, Season 4 (2022)
Seven episodes [~30 mins per episode]
If you just want to dip your toe in, listen to the 2-minute Season 4 trailer (October 7, 2022) “How Memphis Beat the Odds…”
This story has everything! A good fight to protect groundwater; an aquifer that is somewhat of a geological wonder; the real cost of economic development along the Mississippi River; health effects for neighborhoods adjacent to heavy industries; redlining as a form of property-based racism; interesting guests; a well-produced audio program; and last but not least, how lies and half-truths can motivate communities to act.
If you are interested in learning more about how the community prevailed, without the length of an audio documentary, there’s an interesting interview with Sarah Houston who heads up the Memphis nonprofit Protect Our Aquifer protectouraquifer.org in which she describes the difficulties of long-term commitment to water resource protection:
Podcast: Let’s Grab Coffee (May 2, 2022)
Season 1, Ep. 67: Protect Our Aquifer with Sarah Houston [~52 mins]
The first 15 minutes give a lot of useful background, and then the interview becomes more specific to the work of Memphis Communities Against Pollution (MCAP) and environmental groups who rapidly built a coalition to protect the city’s only water source. You can also find the episode by scrolling down at https://wyxr.org/lets-grab-coffee/
Let me know if you have a podcast to recommend, have a comment about my column, or have trouble finding a particular podcast I’ve mentioned. Happy listening!
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Note: This column, part of a series looking at examples of positive climate action, state-by-state, first appeared in the Forest County News Journal 04-05-2023. If you are interested in this state’s topic, check online for updated news, as a lot may have changed in a year and a quarter.
