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South Memphis residents demand public hearings, raise health concerns over XAI project and county air permits
Summary
Multiple speakers urged the Shelby County Commission to push the health department for public hearings and more oversight of proposed XAI operations, saying the project's permits and potential health impacts have not been adequately addressed.
A string of public comments at the March 17 Shelby County Commission meeting focused on a proposed XAI facility and the Shelby County Health Department’s handling of air permits for the project. Speakers urged the commission to require public hearings, citing concerns about air quality, historical pollution burdens and a lack of community engagement.
Latrice Adams, Shelby County lead for Young Gifted and Green and chair of the county’s prevention and sustainability commission, said the facility has been operating without a full permitting process since June 2024 and asked the county to demand a public hearing on the permit application. “We are already appalled that this facility is already operated with no existing permits since June 2024,” Adams said. She asked commissioners to “immediately draft a resolution requiring the Shelby County Health Department to hold a public hearing to honor a democratic process.”
Pamela Moses of Rise Up America Historical Neighborhood Preservation and other speakers pressed the commission to require or encourage a comprehensive environmental review for the project, saying South Memphis already carries a heavy environmental burden and that the proposed project’s scale and speed “jeopardizes the health and well-being of our community.” Moses asserted the project raised concerns under the National Environmental Policy Act and urged commissioners to weigh alternatives, including locating large facilities in less-impacted areas.
Christine Fox, a community organizer with Memphis Community Against Pollution, told commissioners the group is hearing daily frustration from residents who say they have been left without information and asked the commission to use its influence with the health department to secure a public hearing and more oversight of XAI.
Several commissioners responded from the dais. Commissioner Brittany Thornton asked whether residents had successfully scheduled meetings with the health department; Adams said they had not been successful but welcomed assistance. Commissioner Charles Caswell and others volunteered to help arrange a meeting between community representatives and health department officials.
Speakers asked the commission to press the health department to adopt policies for greater public engagement on air permits, including mandating public hearings for major air-permit applications and ensuring communities receive notice and opportunities to comment. Commissioners did not take a formal vote on the request during the meeting; presenters said they would continue to try to arrange meetings with health department staff and to press for written responses from county agencies.
