Latest news with #ShelbyCountyHealthDepartment
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Groups petition EPA to act as ozone levels in Memphis exceed national health standards
Anti-pollution groups are petitioning the EPA to formally declare Memphis out of compliance with national health standards for ozone emissions. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht for Tennessee Lookout) Memphis and surrounding communities have ozone emissions levels that are too high to comply with national health standards, according to data published by the Environmental Protection Agency. A coalition of environmental groups is saying it's long past time for the federal agency and local regulators to tighten restrictions and require better emission controls for sources of air pollution. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency on June 5, asking the EPA to formally recognize that the Memphis metro area is failing to meet federal requirements — a move that would trigger stricter requirements for future air permits. Ozone — also known as smog — is created when pollutants from cars, industrial plants, power plants and other sources react when exposed to sunlight, according to the EPA. Ozone exposure can damage airways and lead to difficulty breathing. People with asthma, emphysema, or those who spend a lot of time outdoors are particularly at risk, the EPA website states. The American Lung Association gave Shelby County an 'F' grade for ozone pollution this year. Ozone emissions averages have exceeded federal limits for the last two years, marking an increase in emissions since 2020. The Shelby County Health Department, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment are responsible for enforcing federal Clean Air Act requirements for the greater Memphis area. The SELC, along with partners Memphis Community Against Pollution, Young Gifted and Green and the Sierra Club criticizes the local regulators' efforts to reduce ozone emissions as inadequate. 'We've been trying to work with the local governments to persuade them to do more, and quicker, but they just aren't taking it seriously enough, so this was really a last resort to us,' SELC Senior Attorney Caroline Cress said. 'You know, the data doesn't lie. We know that it is unhealthy to breathe that air now, and we can't just sit by and let that continue to get worse.' The Shelby County Health Department could not be immediately reached for comment. The EPA set the air quality standard for ozone at 70 parts per billion in 2015. The agency is required to review its standards every five years, but decided not to change the ozone standard in 2020. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee — which acts as an independent advisor to the EPA — issued a report in 2023 recommending that the standard be reduced to 55 to 60 parts per billion 'to be protective of public health.' The EPA has not yet changed the standard. The agency calculates a three-year benchmark figure using data from air monitors to measure compliance with the standard. The Memphis metro area has five air monitors that continuously collect data: three in Shelby County, one in Arkansas and one in Mississippi. Between 2021 and 2023, two of the Memphis-area monitors exceeded the standard. From 2022 to 2024, four of the five monitors exceeded the standard, with the fifth not far behind. There is no monitor located in South Memphis, where industrial development has ballooned in recent years. It's also home to majority Black communities who say they're being surrounded by industrial pollution. South Memphis communities have battled pollution for years, organizing in 2021 to stop the development of the Byhalia Pipeline, which would have transported crude oil through historically Black Southwest Memphis neighborhoods. The EPA investigated potential cancer clustering in neighborhoods surrounding the Sterilization Services of Tennessee facility in 2022, but found no evidence of higher concentrations of cancer diagnoses that could be connected to the facility. The sterilization company uses ethylene oxide, a colorless gas that has been linked to several types of cancer. The company has operated in compliance with EPA regulations, but the federal agency updated its regulations after studies showed the gas is 'more harmful to human health than we previously knew,' according to a report published by the Tennessee Department of Health in 2023. The Shelby County Health Department determines where to place monitors within Shelby County. The department's 2025 air monitoring network plan indicates that it received funding from the EPA to add a monitoring site in South Memphis, which has been without one for more than a decade. The plan does not include a proposed site, and states a monitor may be placed by late 2025 or 2026. The department could not be immediately reached for comment on the proposed South Memphis site. The EPA has authority to review data and declare an area as out of compliance at any time. 'We believe that it really does have an obligation at this point,' Cress said of the EPA. 'We are presenting it with its own data that is on its website that shows unequivocally that this area is violating federal standards.' Should the EPA change the Memphis area's designation, more stringent air quality permit requirements would impact Elon Musk's xAI (also known as the Colossus data center in South Memphis), 'among many other facilities that are emitting ozone-forming pollution,' Cress said. The petition alleges that xAI could be the 'largest stationary source' of ozone emissions in Shelby County, but because the methane gas-fired turbines being used to power the facility are unpermitted, the facility's emissions are unknown to the public. A representative from xAI could not be immediately reached for comment. Tennessee Rep. John Gillespie, a Memphis Republican, issued a statement Monday in support of xAI's Memphis facility, lauding the 'hundreds of high-paying jobs' created by the endeavor. 'Despite what some people would have you believe, xAI is not in the middle of a residential neighborhood,' Gillespie wrote. 'Instead, it's suitably located in the 3,500-acre Frank Pidgeon Industrial Park, a nearly 60-year-old industrial development that many native Memphians refer to as President's Island.' 'The industrial park has over one thousand acres specifically set apart from any residential areas, making it the perfect location for this technology to operate,' Gillespie wrote. 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Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NAACP pens letter calling for end of xAI supercomputer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Your News Leader has obtained a letter sent by the NAACP calling for local regulators to immediately stop Elon Musk's supercomputer project. The letter was sent on Thursday to the Shelby County Health Department and the Commissioner of Memphis, Light, Gas and Water. The civil rights group claims xAI's operations in southwest Memphis are out of compliance with environmental rules. Pearson calls out Health Department, Mayor Harris over xAI In the letter, they urged the health department and MLGW to issue an emergency order for xAI to cease operations completely. You can read the full letter below: naacp-xai-mlgw-scdh-letterDownload We have reached out to MLGW and the Shelby County Health Department for a response. We will update this story when we have more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Pollution hotspot' TN rep. calls out Mayor Lee Harris about xAI remarks
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee Representative Justin J. Pearson says he has concerns about Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris' recent remarks about xAI. Pearson said Mayor Hariss's statement — 'I currently don't have any reason to have any concerns' (about xAI) is disturbing. xAI has been using 15 gas-powered turbines to provide electricity to power its Colossus supercomputer in southwest Memphis on a temporary basis for the past several months. Last month, Pearson led a protest against the xAI turbines in Memphis. On May 9, he called out Director Dr. Michelle Taylor of the Shelby County Health Department and Mayor Harris, demanding answers. Pearson calls out Health Department, Mayor Harris over xAI 'xAI is demobilizing turbines in Shelby County and has no plans to site any turbines at its Tulane location. The company continues to evaluate various power solutions for its Memphis facilities while working within all applicable regulatory frameworks,' the Greater Memphis Chamber stated earlier this month. The Health Department released a statement two weeks ago, saying in part, 'The Shelby County Health Department is currently reviewing the air permit application submitted by xAI for a synthetic minor source under the state regulations and the Clean Air Act.' Pearson said the following in a statement: Mayor Lee doesn't seem to be listening and it seems he doesn't care to understand the lived experiences of those most directly impacted by corporate polluters. His dismissive comments suggest he has not read the research, considered the science, or engaged with experts who have found that xAI's illegal operations have likely pumped 17.2 million tons of Formaldehyde and more nitrogen oxides into the air over the past year than the Memphis International Airport. His failure to act signals that he does not see how allowing xAI to disregard the Clean Air Act and local air pollution law, putting profit over people, is problematic, even though he supervises the Director of the Shelby County Health Department. As Shelby County Mayor, Mr. Harris does not have the luxury of only caring about his friends, family, and the business community. His role demands that he lead with strength, wisdom, and compassion for all residents. I regard his refusal—or inability—to lead on this issue as not only a betrayal of public trust, but also a glaring display of incompetence and a commitment to maintaining the status quo. Group claims xAI plans turbines at new site; Chamber says no Pearson says he expects the mayor to be concerned about xAI, an unpermitted gas plant in Shelby County. 'Our county has received an 'F' or 'D' in air quality during his tenure. Shelby County is a pollution hotspot and holds the shameful title of 'Asthma Capital of the U.S.' More adults and children are hospitalized in Shelby County due to respiratory illnesses than all of the other 94 counties in Tennessee,' said Rep. Pearson. 'We will continue to fight to prevent xAI and other corporations from polluting our lungs,' said Rep. Pearson. And, we will hold our elected officials accountable to the people they were elected to serve—not to the billionaires who profit at our expense.' Pearson says he reached out to Mayor Harris several times and has not received a response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
$2M in COVID funds cut from Shelby County Health Dept.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Health Department has lost $2 million in federal funding as the U.S Department of Health and Human Services cuts COVID grants across the country. The Shelby County Health Director, Dr. Michelle Taylor, says she was shocked by the decision. 'My immediate reaction was, what do you mean that we were supposed to stop work yesterday? In what world does that make sense?' Taylor said. Two million dollars of federal COVID-19 grants were cut abruptly from the organization on March 24, removing 13 roles, from an epidemiologist to community outreach specialists and preventing the health department from purchasing more equipment. Shelby County Health Dept. starts at-home HIV testing program And while Dr. Taylor says she is used to federal grants being taken away, she says she's never seen them taken away so abruptly. 'We get this letter saying work was supposed to have stopped as of yesterday. It was that abrupt. And normally like I've explained before, we would have a much longer glide path if we were having a grant that ended,' Taylor said. The US Department of Health and Human Services released a statement in March defending the cuts saying, 'The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.' Dr. Taylor says while COVID-19 isn't the same problem it was in 2020, the Health Department was using the COVID grants for other good in Shelby County. 'We had been able to flex that funding to do more than just COVID — to tackle Mpox, to tackle other infectious diseases, to do vital community outreach work that we need in this community to reach hard to reach populations,' Taylor said. Read it and eat: Restaurant Report Card Going forward, Dr. Taylor believes her department could challenge the decision, as these grants were passed by Congress. She questioned the US Department of Health and Human Services' authority to cut them. 'I'm confident that Mayor Harris and our county attorney are really considering doing that because we believe in protecting the resources we are rightfully entitled to, given what was already appropriated,' Taylor said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Permit decision on xAI turbines weeks away, health dept. says
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It will be several weeks before the Shelby County Health Department will make a decision on permitting 15 gas-powered turbines being used by xAI to power its supercomputer, a health department director told county commissioners Wednesday. Kasia Smith-Alexander, the Health Department's deputy director of environmental health, said the deadline to comment on xAI's turbine permit was Wednesday. The health department was sorting though hundreds of comments for response. Pearson leads protest against xAI turbines in Memphis The permit under consideration by the health department is for permanent use of 15 turbines for permanent use to augment xAI's power supply during peak MLGW demand. The company has one year to use them temporarily, and is reaching that one-year mark, Smith-Alexander said. If a permit is issued, xAI would be limited to 15 turbines for permanent use. If health department inspectors find more turbines are in operation, the company could be subject to fines set by the EPA, Smith-Alexander said. Any additional turbines would require a new application with the health department, she said. Environmental groups say there are some 35 turbines on the property, though Mayor Paul Young says the majority are not in operation. xAI hearing draws hundreds, becomes heated debate Commissioner Erika Sugarmon said it looks to her like the the turbines, which were supposed to be temporary, are becoming permanent. Sugarmon said she wanted the deadline for comment extended, because county commission has not received answers from TVA and MLGW. 'We want answers because xAI has circumvented both the county commission and the city council,' she said. To that end, commissioners discussed a resolution Wednesday that asks TVA and MLGW to provide them with monthly updates on the xAI project starting June 1. A county attorney said the commission did not have authority over those bodies, so the request for updates may be just that — a request. xAI supercomputer in Memphis accused of violating federal law Several audience members spoke out Wednesday against approving permits for xAI to use gas turbines to help power its Colossus supercomputer in southwest Memphis, citing adverse health impacts and air quality for residents in the Boxtown area. KeShaun Pearson, director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, said cancer and asthma rates were significantly higher in the neighborhoods of southwest Memphis than in other areas. 'I just buried my aunt last month. I continue to bury my family members from the chronic illnesses,' he said. Kimberly Davis, who said she lived in Whitehaven, thanked the commission for trying to hold xAI accountable. 'We need more checks and balances to say the least,' she said. 'There is nothing natural about what the citizens of southwest Memphis are facing. They are surrounded by an unnatural amount of toxic release facilities.' Ted Townsend, president of the Greater Memphis Chamber, said earlier this week that Elon Musk's xAI was investing millions to make sure its Memphis operations were as environmentally responsible as possible. CEO Ted Townsend on community's comments and future of xAI gas turbines He pointed out that xAI is installing the world's largest watewater processing facility for water that will cool its computer and other surrounding industries, and a Tesla magapack installation that will allow them to store power and put it back on the MLGW grid when necessary. The turbines, he said, were using technology that will lower emissions. 'Within this permit, what this company is pursuing, they are investing above and beyond what's expected of them,' Townsend said. 'This is well below any emissions that those communities have ever faced in the past.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
