Memphis council plans vote on ordinance tied to oil pipeline

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — City council members in Memphis, Tennessee, were scheduled to vote Tuesday on a law that could make it more difficult for a company to build an oil pipeline over an aquifer that provides clean drinking water to 1 million people.

The Memphis City Council is set to vote in its afternoon meeting on an ordinance that would establish a board to approve or deny construction of underground pipelines that transport oil or other potentially toxic liquids near wells that pump millions of gallons of water daily from the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

The ordinance would be just the latest in a series of measures opponents have taken to block the pipeline, including a federal lawsuit. They have obtained the support of members of Congress and other well-known figures, including former Vice President Al Gore and actor Jane Fonda.

A joint venture formed by Valero Energy and the Plains All American pipeline company, the Byhalia Connection would link the Valero refinery in Memphis with another larger pipeline in north Mississippi. They want to build the 49-mile (78-kilometer) artery to carry crude oil to the Gulf Coast, a project that they say will bring needed jobs and tax revenue to the region.

Environmentalists, activists and politicians who oppose the pipeline are concerned that an oil spill would endanger the aquifer and the slightly sweet drinking water it provides to the Memphis area. In a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Southern Environmental Law Center said the clay layer above the aquifer “has several known and suspected breaches, holes, and leaks.”

Activists also are upset that the pipeline would run through poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods in south Memphis that for decades have dealt with environmental concerns such as air and ground pollution.

Some residents signed deals with...